The Breeders Trophy Series for three-year-old pacers got underway at Hippodrome 3R with three divisions comprising the opening round on Sunday (July 17) -- one of them resulting in the fastest mile of the day.
In the 11th race, the second of two $7,500 divisions for the colts and geldings, Chikaboom and driver Francis Picard gave the competition something to worry about as they wired the field with ease in 1:54.3. That clocking was a fifth of a second faster than the Preferred Handicap Pace went in.
Picard left with Chikaboom from post three and never looked back. They held the field at bay with race favourite Aladdin (Samuel Fillion) following in second by two lengths and the rest of the field gapping the entire mile.
After fractions of :27, :55.3 and 1:24.3, Chikaboom showed no signs of letting up as he cruised to a two-length triumph. Aladdin was second with Titanium Alpha (Stephane Brosseau) third.
A gelded son of Betterthancheddar, Chikaboom scored his first win in five starts this year. He is trained by Dr. John Bradbury for owner/breeder Harold Duguay of Pabos, Que. Chikaboom paid $5.50 to win.
The first $7,500 division of the Breeders Trophy Series for the colts was the seventh race where last year’s Quebec champion two-year-old HP Momentum finally got the goose egg off his win column this year.
Got His Mom and Picard went right to the front with race favourite Le Massif (Steeve Genois) sitting in the pocket seat to the first quarter in :28.3
Heading to the half-mile marker in :58.3, HP Momentum and driver Jonathan Lachance went first-over and started to gain on the race leader.
Down the backside, HP Momentum continued to advance on Got Hot Mom as they passed three-quarters in 1:27.2. Then coming off the final turn, HP Momentum lost his momentum and it looked like it would be an easy win for Got Hot Mom.
Whatever happened to HP Momentum was forgotten as Lachance was able to get his mount back in gear and on the move in the stretch, catching Got Hot Mom and winning by half a length in 1:57.2. Le Massif was third.
The win was the first in eight starts this year for HP Momentum. The gelded son of Control The Moment is trained and owned by Francis Guillemette of Guelph, Ont. He paid $4.70 to win.
In the lone Breeders Trophy Series for three-year-old female pacers with a purse of $10,000, the lightly raced Sportswriter filly Majo Sport Bella stole the show.
The fourth race division started off with race favourite Shes Rockandfame and Fillion taking the early lead with Majo Sport Bella and Lachance wisely following that filly from the second tier in post nine. By the first quarter in :28.4, there were two lead changes between those two race favourites with Shes Rockandfame retaking the top spot before the half-mile in 1:00.2.
In the backstretch, Ora Sena (Berube) came first-over with Godiva Me Amour (Robert Shepherd) second-over and that flushed Lachance and Major Sport Bella to move again and take over the lead by three-quarters in 1:29.4.
From there, it was a walk in the park as Majo Sport Bell and Lachance pulled away from the field and won in a romp by 4-1/4 lengths in 1:59.3. Shes Rockandfame was second with Kinder Dirty Diana (Jessica Turenne) third.
Majo Sport Bella, who never raced at age two, is now two-for-two in her career. She is trained by Normand Bardier for owner Lynda Fortin of Mirabel, Que. The filly paid $4.80 to win.
A big upset took place in the 10th race $6,000 Preferred 2 & 3 Handicap Pace as 8-1 Mickeymaksomespeed and Kiwon Waldron prevailed.
Mickeymaksomespeed was parked out by Ever Again (Antoine Desrochers) to an opening quarter-mile in :26.4 then they led the rest of the way, winning by two lengths in 1:54.4 over race favourite Siddhartha (Pierre-Luc Roy) and BS Tyrrific (Berube).
The win was Mickeymaksomespeed’s second win this year from 10 starts for owner, breeder and trainer Michel Allard of Saint-Esprit. Que. and The five-year-old of Mickey Hanover paid $18.80 to win.
Track Notes: Three drivers all had doubles on Sunday. They were Jonathan Lachance (with both in the stakes series), Pascal Berube and Francis Picard. Dr. John Bradbury had a training double. Live racing resumes at 3R next Friday, July 22 with post time at 4 pm.
To view Sunday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Sunday Results - Hippodrome 3R.
(With files from Quebec Jockey Club)