Having to start from post eight in the Sunday (June 13) opener at Hippodrome 3R did not hinder Diamond Rock’s winning streak.
Driver Pascal Bérubé sent the three-year-old gelded son of Betterthanchedder for the lead, stung three-wide around the first turn, but then cleared to the front by the opening quarter mile in :27.3.
From there, Diamond Rock cut all the fractions — :57.3 to the half and 1:27.2 to the three-quarters — before winning with ease by 1-1/2 lengths in 1:57.2.
Trained by Pierre Leclerc for owner Lise Carbonneau, Diamond Rock is the winningest horse at H3R this meet, undefeated in four starts this year. He paid $6.70 to win.
The closest finish of the season came in the Preferred Pace for older horses.
First to show on the lead was Somewhere Bettor (Jocelyn Gendron), who forced Mickeymaksomespeed (Jonathan Lachance) to take a two-hole trip at the opening quarter mile in :27.1. Then the action started to heat up as Littlebitaswager (Francis Picard) came first-over early with Veneno (Stephane Brosseau) right on his back through a :57.2 half.
All the way up the backstretch, Littlebitaswagger inched his way up to collar leader Somewhere Better to three-quarters in 1:26.2, and then most of the eight-horse field was bunched up in striking position.
Somewhere Bettor held onto his lead in the stretch but bore out a bit, allowing Lachance and Mickeymaksomespeed to sneak up the rail and nip Somewhere Bettor at the finish by a sliver of a nose in 1:56.
Littlebitaswagger was third by a head, Hooter Shooter (Samuel Fillion) was fourth by a neck, and Veneno was fifth by just a half length in the five-horse photo.
For Mickeymaksomespeed, a four-year-old stallion by Mickey Hanover, it was his second win this season. He is trained, owned and was bred by Michel Allard and paid $3.50 to win.
The Preferred Pace for the mares saw Fancy Girl (Francis Picard) strung out three-wide by Jans Legacy (Stephane Brosseau) and D Gs Fairystars (Michel Audet) to the opening quarter mile in :27.3.
Once Fancy Girl made the lead, Brosseau came right back to the lead with Jans Legacy, who cut the mile to the half in :58. Then Shemaksmefelunreal (Marie Claude Auger) came after Jans Legacy first-over with Topsill Beach (Samuel Fillion) second-over.
Once the field reached the backstretch, Big Diamond and driver Stephane Gendron went three-wide and nearly were able to clear at the three-quarters in 1:28.1, but could not make it on the final turn.
By the top of the stretch, Jans Legacy and Brosseau had firm control of the lead despite a late charge again by Fancy Girl. Jans Legacy went on to win by 1-1/4 lengths in 1:58. Fancy Girl was second and Y C Easy (Pierre-Luc Roy) was third.
It was the second win this season for Jans Legacy. The seven-year-old mare by Camluck, who happened to be the oldest mare in the field, is trained by Marc-Andre Simoneau, who co-owns Jans Legacy with the Desjardins Noreau Stables. She paid $5.60 to win.
Pascal Bérubé was the only one to score a driving double on the program.
Live harness racing returns to H3R next Saturday and Sunday. Saturday (June 19) will be the second round of the Québec Regional Fair Circuit with post time at 1 p.m. Sunday’s (June 20) regular race program starts at 12:30 p.m. For more information, visit www.hippodrome3r.ca.
To view Sunday's complete results, click the following link: Sunday Results – Hippodrome 3R.
(Québec Jockey Club)