There are only two 'P's left in the Triple P Stable, but they're living a dream, thanks to Bestofbest Hanover
.
"I've never experienced anything like this… the adrenaline, the joy. It's been worth the wait," said Jean-Roch Perron, 61, the Quebec City businessman that owns the son of Western Hanover along with his spouse, Isabelle Paquet. The third P, Sylvain Pellerin, dropped out of the partnership the same year they bought Bestofbest Hanover at the Harrisburg yearling sale for $27,000 (U.S.).
"I guess the third P is patience, now. Because we've waited a long time," said Perron, proprietor of a swimming-pool business who has owned horses for almost 30 years, but never had a stakes winner --- much less a Meadowlands Pace starter --- before Bestofbest Hanover.
Winner of a division of the Somebeachsomewhere Stakes and the $100,000 North America Cup consolation, Bestofbest Hanover snuck into Saturday's $1 million Meadowlands Pace with a bold move up the inside from last for driver Michel Lachance. The colt grabbed the fifth and final berth behind division winner Custard the Dragon. His owners were hoping for a better post position this week, but ended up with the exact same draw, Post 9.
"He'll need a trip from there," Perron said, "but it's a well-balanced field. He's got real speed and Michel Lachance has a wealth of experience."
Perron travelled to the Meadowlands Racetrack to watch the elimination, accompanied by veteran Quebec horseman Gabriel Boily, who helped pick out the horse and prepare him before sending him to Ontario-based trainer Daniel Martin.
"I liked the breeding, Gabriel liked the conformation, and that's how we ended up with him," Perron said. "People thought he was small, but Gabriel said he was the best we'd ever bought, and he was right."
(A Trot Insider exclusive by Paul Delean)