For the fourth time in the last one and one-half months, harness racing driver Stephane Gendron has scored a driving triple at the Hippodrome 3R on Sunday (November 6).
And with the driving accomplishment comes a bonus of $125 as part of the The Tour du champeau, sponsored locally by Gentilly Ford autos, which offers a $100 bonus to any driver who can win three races on the program at 3R. If no one does, the bonus rises $25 per race card.
On top of it all, Gendron scored his driving triple in just five drives at 3R Sunday.
In the third race feature trot, Gendron was just a passenger behind Caroluzzo as the race favourite was able to lead from start to finish in 2:02.1, winning with ease by two and one-half lengths over Force Naturelle (Simon Delisle) and Promesses Imperial (Jerome Lombart). Caroluzzo, a seven-year-old chestnut horse by Musclesextrodinair, is trained by Daniel Martin for owner/breeder Michael Cote Gagnon of Terrebonne, Que. He paid $2.70 to win. It was his sixth win of the season.
The eighth race feature pace saw owner/trainer/driver Daniel LaFlamme, also of Terrebonne, wire the field with mild longshot Shanghai Kang by three lengths in the fastest time of the day, 1:57.2, paying a handsome $21 to win. It was the fifth win this year for Shanghai Kang, a four-year-old gelded son of Jeremes Jet, who defeated race favourite D J Power (Pierre Luc Roy) and Bemmol Kalie (Gaetan Lamy).
Trainer Yves Tessier increased his lead as the top trainer this meet, sending out just one starter, Three Rockets, who captured the fifth race for Gendron. Tessier, with just one race day left in the 3R meet next Sunday, has 24 training wins to lead over defending champion Maxime Velaye, at 20.
Next Sunday is closing day at the Hippodrome 3R and part of the ceremonies will include honouring two veteran racehorses who are age 14 and must retire from pari-mutuel racing come January 1, 2017. They are the top trotter Pablo Angus and the pacer Charlottes Tazman. Charlottes Tazman raced on Sunday for driver Jonathan Lachance and in the ninth race and put in a valiant effort, going three-wide in the backstretch and around the final turn, nearly getting to the lead, but faded and finished fifth
To view Sunday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Sunday Results - Hippodrome 3R.
(With files from QJC)