Former Quebec Sires Stakes star Maxou will revisit the scene of one of his past glories Sunday, returning to Hippodrome 3R in Trois-Rivières for the first time in more than two decades.
Now 27, the Flight of Fire gelding will be paraded to commemorate his triumph 25 years ago in what was then the track’s signature event, the $122,850 Amble Trois-Rivières pace for Quebec-bred two-year-old pacers.
He was a five-length winner of the race in 1991, for owner/breeder Roger St. Germain, trainer Jean-Paul Charron and driver Mario Charron. All three will be back with him on Sunday.
“It’s very rare that you see a horse come back 25 years after winning a major stake. I think it’ll bring back memories, not just for myself but for the industry in Quebec,” said St. Germain, 75.
Maxou was the dominant two-year-old of his year in Quebec, winning 11 of 13 starts and $126,403. But he was upset by Cool Ice in the $200,000 Coupe des Eleveurs final that year.
Ligament problems pushed back the start of his three-year-old season until just before the 1992 Coupe, but he was able to capture one of the two eliminations to qualify for the $220,000 final, which he then won with Jean-Paul Charron driving.
He made 12 starts and another $144,954 at three, at which point St. Germain decided he’d done enough and retired his first Coupe champion, one of a string of top horses from a mare, Lilith Lobell, that also produced Breeders Crown winner Shore By Five and stakes winner Patrika.
“With all he’d done, he earned retirement for life,” said St. Germain, who retired himself five years ago after major heart surgery.
After leaving the racetrack, Maxou served briefly as a teaser at Blue Chip Farm in New York, where he was raised, before being gelded and returning to Quebec and becoming a riding horse for the St. Germain family. In recent years, he’s been a pensioner at the Quebec farm of Daniel and Guylaine Surprenant.
“I still have the video (of his Amble Trois-Rivières victory),” St. Germain said. "They’re going to show it Sunday.”
(A Trot Insider Exclusive by Paul Delean)