Former leading trainer Maxime Velaye hopes to make a triumphant return to Hippodrome 3R on Sunday (July 17) as he has two strong contenders for the opening round of the Breeders Trophy Series.
“I’m very happy to be back racing at 3R,” Velaye said. “I have one trotter and two pacers and so far, they look really good. We cross our fingers that they stay sound and healthy. I think we should have a nice summer with them.”
Sunday’s card at 3R features three opening round divisions of the Breeders Trophy Series for three-year-old pacing colts and fillies.
Velaye’s top contender for the series is Aladdin, who starts from post four in the 11th race, the second division of the Breeders Trophy Series for colts.
The gelded son of Shadow Play never raced at age two but looks to be making up for lost time at age three with two wins in three starts.
Last week at Rideau Carleton, Aladdin turned a two-hole trip into a lifetime mark of 1:54.2, last quarter in :27.4 for driver Samuel Fillion.
“So far he looks for real,” Velaye said. “He is really smart and he improves with every start he has made. I have huge expectations for this one.”
Aladdin will be facing two return winners in his division. Titanium Alpha (Post 5) comes into the race off a wire-to-wire 6-3/4-length romp in 1:57.3. Aladdin Du Lac (Post 1) also romped in his last start, winning by nine open lengths in 2:00.2 in his first start this year.
In the seventh race first colt division, Velaye sends out Maitre De La Scene, a gelded son of Hes Watching who starts for Fillion in post five.
Like Aladdin, Maitre De La Scene never started as a two-year-old. He is winless in two starts at Rideau Carleton, finishing fifth and race timed in 1:56.4 in his most recent. He is listed at odds of 4-1.
Why didn’t either of these pacers race at age two?
“They both had to have surgery late in the winter last year,” Velaye explained. “We didn’t have enough time to make them ready for the stakes season so we shut them down early. They never had a training mile at age two. This was the first time we were doing this. They both had surgery to remove bone chips from their ankles.”
Maitre De La Scene faces some tough competition from Le Massif (Post 1) for driver Steeve Genois. They were fourth in their last start at Rideau Carleton, timed in 1:54.4. HP Momentum (Post 2) comes from competing in Ontario where two starts back he was third, timed in 1:53.3 at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
Along with Velaye, Fillion is returning to 3R as well. He was last in action at the Quebec track on June 26 when he won three races and captured the Quebec/Eastern Ontario Regional Driving Championship.
“Guy Corbeil met Samuel two years ago,” Velaye explained. “And it was always in the air that maybe someday he would drive for us. So, it happened this year and so far he is doing a really nice job with the ones he has driven for us.”
The one division that Velaye does not have a horse entered is the filly division that goes in the fourth race for a purse of $10,000 and features nine starters.
The race favourite, Majo Sport Fella goes from post nine for driver Jonathan Lachance. This Sportswriter filly has only one lifetime start and that was last week at 3R when she scored a two-length triumph in 2:01.3. She hails from trainer Normand Bardier, Jr. and owner Lynda Fortin of Mirabel, who bred the filly with the late Mario Lachance.
Other contenders in the field include Shes Rockandfame from Post 2, AJ Dalia in Post 8 and Kinder Dirty Diana (Sunshine Beach) in post 1.
First race post time Sunday at 3R is 12:00 p.m. To view Sunday's entries, click the following link: Sunday Entries - Hippodrome 3R.
(Quebec Jockey Club)