Harness racing driver Guy Gagnon was on a tear at Hippodrome 3R Tuesday evening (June 12), winning five of the nine races on the program.
Gagnon started off like a rocket, winning the first race with Missionoftheheart in 2:01.3 and then the second race with Mrs Dragonfire in 2:00.
In the third race, the mares division of the opening round of the Québec-Bred Series for four- and five-year-old trotters, it was all Y S Suzanne and Gagnon for his third straight win on the night.
Lucky Promesses and trainer-driver Jerome Lombart were able to outleave Y S Suzanne and take early command of the lead, but Gagnon wanted his mare back on top, and they were by the opening quarter mile in :29.
From that point on, Y S Suzanne and Gagnon led to the half in :59.4 and three-quarters in 1:29.3 before Lombart pulled the pocked going into the final turn and nearly caught up with Y S Suzanne at the top of the stretch. But Y S Suzanne kicked in another gear and went on to win by a length in 2:00.2. Lucky Promesses was second with Eau Naturelle (Simon Delisle) third.
The Future Stars Champion in Québec at age two, Y S Suzanne is now five. She is a daughter of Angus Hall, trained by Blake Curran and owned by Jason Jamieson and Blake Curran of Perth, Ont. It was her fourth win this year and she paid just $2.10 to win as the overwhelming race favourite.
Gagnon then scored his fourth winner of the night in the sixth race with Yoshi in a lifetime best 2:00.2.
The seventh race was the horse division of the Québec-Bred Series, and surprising to the wagering crowd, last year’s three-year-old champion Capteur De Reve and driver Pierre Luc Roy were the winners at odds of 8-1, but what a race it was.
Kinnder Dangerous and driver Justin Filion left and got the lead away from Holiday Party (Pascal Berube) as they went to the opening quarter in :28.4. Then by the half in 1:00.3, it was Captuer De Reve and Roy coming first-over.
Captuer De Reve was able to grind his way and collar Kinnder Dangerous at three-quarters in 1:31.2 as Berube took Holiday Party three-wide around the final turn.
Kinnder Dangerous was back on top as they started down the stretch and battled Capteur De Reve right to the finish. With a final surge, Capteur De Reve won by a neck in 2:00.1. Holiday Party was just a length back in third place.
It was the first win in three starts for Capteur De Reve. The gelded son of Muscle Mass is trained by Maxime Velaye and was bred by owner Ecurie Provoquante of Mirabel. He paid $18.10 to win.
Gagnon then picked up his fifth winner of the night in the eighth race with Beachrunner AM in 1:56.1. Gagnon and Stephane Brosseau are the only two drivers this season to score five winners on a program.
Live racing resumes at the Hippodrome 3R on Sunday (June 17), with first race post time at 12:50 p.m. For more information and a free race program, visit www.quebecjockeyclub.com.
To view Tuesday’s harness racing results, click the following link: Tuesday Results – Hippodrome 3R.
(Québec Jockey Club)