Lamy Returns After 2-Year Break

It's not a comeback yet - not officially - but veteran Quebec driver Gaetan Lamy has been turning up in the entries at Pompano Park these past few weeks

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Lamy, 63 today, retired a couple of years ago after a 40-year harness racing career that produced 6,694 victories. He winters in Florida now and spends much of his time at Pompano, where he qualifies horses and helps out at the barn of trainer Jean Beaulieu.

Owner Denis Goyette, who often crossed paths with Lamy in Florida, last month offered him a six-year-old trotter called Genesisjerseyspeed to train, and rather than scramble to find a regular catch-driver, Lamy decided to do it himself. They've made five starts together so far, picking up three cheques though no wins.

Last week, Beaulieu offered him the drive on his stable star Power Park, an $850,000 winner whose biggest successes came in Montreal with Gaetan Lamy in the sulky from 2003 to 2006. Lamy jumped at the chance, though the outcome was not what he hoped. They finished last.

"We found out after Power Park was sick," said Beaulieu.

Lamy has enjoyed the return to the sulky but doesn't see himself doing it anywhere else but Florida, where it's (usually) warm and rarely rains.

"In 40 years, I covered a lot of ground," he said. "At this stage, it's more a hobby for me than anything else."

(A Trot Insider Exclusive by Paul Delean)