Yannick Marquis earned his first pari-mutuel win in the sulky as he drove Doc Houston, whom he owns and trains, to victory in an amateur contest on Friday, July 4 at Hippodrome 3R.
He couldn’t find a seat for the six-year-old in a :27.4 first quarter so drove on, pushing him to the lead the $3,250 event at the half in :58.3. Silken Sweet (Alain Pelletier), who shifted out onto Doc Houston’s back and was now uncovered, pressed first-over until fading at three-quarters in 1:28.2. Doc Houston widened his advantage on the final turn, and the gelding cruised down the lane to win by 1-3/4 lengths in 1:58.4. Cool Cute Cookie (Ghislain Paquet) finished second after leading the first half, followed by Delco Dynamo (Roxanne Viau). The winner returned $3.30.
Doc Houston is now two-for-11 this season and 14-for-114 lifetime with $129,192 in earnings. Marquis brought the son of Sportswriter-Spun Sugar back to Trois-Rivières from Western Ontario in April.
Marquis recorded his first driving win in his seventh start. He has hit the board five times and boasts a UDRS of .428 since making his debut last June. The Mascouche, Que.-based horseman, who returned to training after 13 years in 2022, is also 23-for-170 as a conditioner.
To view Friday’s harness racing results, click the following link: Friday Results - Hippodrome 3R.
(Standardbred Canada)