Kinnder Dangerous was making his 2017 debut in the opening round of the $220,000 Breeders Cup Series for three-year-old trotting colts and fillies Tuesday evening at the Hippodrome 3R and the son of Northern Escort wowed the crowd with a 16-1 upset victory.
Driven by Justin Filion for owner, breeder and trainer, Denitza Petrova of Melbourne, Kinnder Dangerous was facing last year’s two-year-old champion, Capteur De Reve and that made no difference at all.
Starting from post position one, Filion sent Kinnder Dangerous right to the front as Capteur De Reve (Stephane Brosseau) left from post five as the 1-5 betting favourite and settled in second place, following Kinnder Dangerous to a speedy :28.2 opening quarter mile.
Filion was able to back down the pace to the half mile marker in 1:00 and that flushed the second choice in the race, Sometimes When and driver Guy Gagnon, to come first-over to challenge.
Entering the backstretch, it looked as if Sometimes When might be able to collar Kinnder Dangerous, but Filion would not allow it to happen, controlling the lead at the three-quarters in 1:29.3 as Capteur De Reve could not seem to stay close to the leaders as they rounded the final turn.
Then in the stretch drive, Filion and Kinnder Dangerous were much the best, holding off Sometimes When and winning by three-quarters of a length in 1:59.3. Capteur De Reve was third.
It was a lifetime mark for Kinnder Dangerous, who paid $34.90 to win and was winless in five starts last year at age two.
“Yes, I knew he would be very good tonight,” said trainer and owner Denitza Petrova. “He had four months off and grew and filled out well and has been training very good. He is a very nice horse, goes very natural and has lots of heart! I think he will be strong in this series.”
The trotting fillies in the series took center stage in the seventh race where the 1-9 wagering favourite, HP Run Like Mom, scored her third straight win.
It was Affirmee and driver Pierre-Luc Roy who shot to the early lead with Taurus P V (Jocelyn Gendron) grabbing the two-hole spot and going quickly to the opening quarter mile in :28.4. They raced Indian-style to the half mile in :59.2.
HP Run Like Mom and driver Stephane Brosseau were sitting in third place and they came out first-over in the backstretch and blew by Taurus P V and then collared Affirmee and past them by at the three-quarters in 1:30.4.
It was then all HP Run Like Mom, who took off and won by eight and one-half lengths in 2:01.1. Affirmee was second with Lindas Jewel, who was making her first pari-mutuel start, finishing third.
Trained by Jean Tourigny, HP Run Like Mom is sired by Kadabra and was bred by Claude Hamel of Ayer’s Cliff, who co-owns the filly with Michel Damphousse of Louisville.
In her last three starts, HP Run Like Mom has won by a total of 29-3/4 lengths.
There is a real dogfight for the leading driver and trainer standings at H3R. With his driving triple Tuesday, Stephane Brosseau has tied Stephane Gendron for the lead at 21 wins each. Both Francis Richard and Jean Tourigny had one training win Tuesday and Richard holds a slim lead over Tourigny 13 to 12.
Live racing resumes Sunday afternoon with first race post time at 12:30 p.m. Featured will be the second round of the $220,000 Breeders Cup Series for three-year-old pacing colts and fillies. For more information, visit www.quebecjockeyclub.com.
(Quebec Jockey Club)
To view results for Tuesday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Tuesday Results – Hippodrome 3R.