Ladycorona has stamped herself as the top three-year-old pacing filly at Hippodrome 3R this season with her third straight triumph, taking a $7,500 division of the Breeders Trophy Series on Sunday afternoon (July 30).
It was the second round of the series for three-year-olds pacers and Ladycorona (poctured above) started from post two in her division for driver Pascal Berube.
YS Sensationalcity (Jocelyn Gendron) had the pylon post and left hard to control the inside as Berube also sent Ladycorona for the lead and those two battled neck and neck through a :27.3 opening quarter before Ladycorona won that battle. Berube then backed her off to a half-mile in just :59. Entering the backstretch, Berube had a stranglehold on his filly going by the three-quarters in 1:28.2 and went on to win with ease by 2-1/4 lengths in 1:57.3. YS Sensationalcity was second with Mach N Cheddar (David Pilon) third.
Ladycorona, a daughter of Bettors Delight, is now five-for-10 this year including two wins in the series for trainer Yves Tessier and owner/breeder Sotirios Anastasopoulos. She paid just $2.10 to win.
In the other Breeders Trophy Series division for the fillies, favourite Pocahontas Du Lac and driver/co-owner Pierre-Luc Roy did not disappoint the race fans as she wired the field in 1:58.4, winning by 1-3/4 lengths. Irish Mary (Berube) was second with Godiva Ice Cream (Robert Shepherd) third.
The win was the first for Pocahontas Du Lac in nine starts this season. Last year, the Betterthancheddar filly was the Quebec two-year-old filly champion. She is trained by David Pilon while Roy co-owns with his brother Louis-Philippe Roy, Maude Larouche and Jean Allaire. She paid just $2.20 to win.
Owner/breeder Guy Corbeil watched his homebreds sweep the two $7,500 divisions of the Breeders Trophy Series for three-year-old colt and gelding pacers. Both Fantome En Joie and Attitude were driven to victory by Stephane Brosseau for trainer Maxime Velaye.
First up was Fantome En Joie, who was able to wire the field for Brosseau, winning by three-quarters of a length in 1:57.1 over Kansas Panic (Shepherd) with Maximus BG (Gendron) third.
The Shadow Play gelding earned his second straight win and fifth victory in just seven starts during his debut season. He paid $3.10 to win.
Attitude also led wire-to-wire in his division as the favourite for Brosseau, winning by 2-1/2 lengths in 1:58 over Kingston Panic (Shepherd) with Albert Alpha (Jimmy Gagnon) third.
The win was the third in seven starts this season for Attitude, who was also unraced as a two-year-old. The Leader Bayama gelding paid $3.20 to win.
Corbeil, Velaye and Brosseau made it a triple on Sunday as their pacer Aladdin was a repeat winner in the $7,000 Preferred Handicap in 1:55.4 -- the fastest mile on the afternoon. The four-year-old Shadow Play gelding overcame a post eight start and won by 2-1/4 lengths over Siddhartha (Marie-Claude Auger), with Snap Test (Shepherd) third.
With his three victories, Velaye is now one win away from leading trainer Marc-Andre Simoneau, who has won 15 races at the 3R meet.
Berube led all drivers with four winners while Brosseau had a driving triple.
Due to the Grand Prix Auto Racing in the town of Trois-Rivieres next week, there will be no live racing at 3R next weekend. Live racing will resume on Friday, Aug. 11 with the second round of the Future Stars Series for two-year-old trotters.
To view Sunday's harness racing results, click the following link: Sunday Results - Hippodrome 3R.
(With files from Quebec Jockey Club)