Boomboom Tonight crushed his opponents in the second round of the Breeders Trophy Series at Hippodrome 3R on Sunday afternoon, July 28.
There were four $7,500 divisions of the series, two for the colts and two for the fillies on Sunday.
Boomboom Tonight opened up as the overwhelming 1-9 favourite in his division. Starting from post five for driver Pascal Berube, Boomboom Tonight worked his way to the lead over Ambitious Mind (Francis Picard) by the first quarter in a pedestrian :29.
As the race continued, so did the lead for Boomboom Tonight. He went to the half in :58.4, the three-quarters in 1:27.2 and poured it on in the stretch, winning by 10 lengths in 1:56.2. G A Speed Expert (Robert Shepherd) came on for second over Ambitious Mind third.
Bred, owned and trained by Elisabeth Pothier, Boomboom Tonight is the only double winner in the series. The Sportswriter-Rapid Tonight gelding earned his third (consecutive) win from eight seasonal starts and paid just $2.10 across the board.
In the other colt division, Kinnder Reptile and driver Marie-Claude Auger pull off a three-wide move in the backstretch and was still able to mow down race favourite Gladiator S BG (Pascal Berube) in the stretch.
Haka Timatanga (Jocelyn Gendron) cut the mile with Gladiator S BG settling into the two-hole by the quarter in :28. Going to the half-mile in :59.1, Kinnder Reptile was already on the move from fifth and that flushed Gladiator S BG out of the two-hole and first-over, giving Kinnder Reptile live cover.
In the backstretch, Auger swept three-wide with Kinnder Reptile which urged Gladiator S BG on first-over by three-quarters in 1:28.2. Gladiator S BG was able to clear by Haka Timatanga as Kinnder Reptile backed off a step on the final turn.
As they started down the stretch, Auger urged Kinnder Reptile on and they collared Gladiator S BG and went on to win by a half a length in 1:57.2. Olaf Du Lac (Pierre-Luc Roy) was third.
Unraced as a two-year-old, Kinnder Reptile earned his fourth win in just six starts this season. The Sportswriter-Kinnder Reptile gelding was bred and is owned and trained by Denitza Petrova. He paid $6.60 to win as the 2-1 second choice.
In the first of the two $7,500 divisions of the Breeders Trophy Series for the fillies, Ronda Du Lac, with driver Pierre-Luc Roy, sat a perfect pocket trip behind 1-9 race favourite The Heart Valley (Marie-Claude Auger).
The Heart Valley cut fractions of :28.1, :57.4 and 1:28. Roy waited until the top of the stretch and sent Ronda Du Lac after the race leader, wearing her down at the wire to win by three-quarters of a length in 1:58.2. Breedingbankrupsy (Pascal Berube) was a distant third.
The win was the second of the season in 11 starts for Ronda Du Lac, who is trained by David Pilon for breeder and co-owner Louis-Philippe Roy and partners Maude Larouche, Michel Letarte and Jean Allaire. The Shadow Play-Signet filly paid $8.80 to win as the 3-1 second choice.
In the second filly division, Wicked Discovery and driver Pascal Berube worked their way to the lead over Ma Diva (Sylvain Lacaille) by the opening quarter in :27.1 and never looked back again.
Leading to the half-mile in :58 and the three-quarters in 1:28.1, Wicked Discovery turned it on in the stretch to win by five open lengths in 1:58.1. A game first-over D Gs Lorijeanne (Jonathan Lachance) was second with Shes Rock (Robert Shepherd) third.
The winning time was a new lifetime mark for Wicked Discovery, who is trained by Louis-Philippe Turcotte for owners Jean Roch Marois and Gerard Demers. The McWicked-Pan Voyage filly earned her second (consecutive) victory in 14 starts this year. She paid $2.80 to win as the bettors' choice.
Closing out Sunday's 10-race card, Rec Time earned her third straight win since arriving in Quebec as she prevailed by a quarter-length over Dollydaydream in the $6,500 Fillies & Mares Preferred Handicap Pace in 1:58.1 for driver Denis St. Pierre. The favoured four-year-old daughter of Huntsville out of Ms Malicious is trained by Michel Allard and owned by Danielle Henri.
Making Quebec Regional Fair Circuit news this weekend, the Michel Allard-trained four-year-old pacing mare YS Sensationalcity won the 1-1/4-mile race in 2:28 at St-Joseph-de-Lepage on Saturday. That was the first time the distance was raced there, so it is a track record. YS Sensationalcity was driven by 48-year-old Mario Lafortune, who earned his first driving win in just his second start.
Live harness racing resumes at 3R next Friday, Aug. 4 with the second round of the Future Stars Series for two-year-old trotting colts and fillies.
To view Sunday's harness racing results, click the following link: Sunday Results - Hippodrome 3R.
(With files from Quebec Jockey Club)