Last week at Hippodrome 3R marked the return of both the trotter Kinnder Dangerzone and driver Pierre-Luc Roy. They teamed up to win impressively and return again on Friday to headline the $6,000 Preferred Handicap Trot.
But where was Kinnder Dangerzone last season?
As a two-year-old in 2020, Kinnder Dangerzone was perfect. The son of Northern Escort made just four starts and won all of them, including the $55,000 Quebec-Bred Championship with Pierre-Luc Roy in the sulky for owner, breeder and trainer Denitza Petrova of Melbourne, Que.
But then what happened to the undefeated colt in 2021?
“He ended up in Hoosier Park in the USA,” explained Petrova. “Because he is Indiana-bred, he was eligible to the Indiana Sire Stakes at age three and, since he showed a lot of talent, I decided to give him a chance there.”
He went to top trainer Ron Burke's stable at Hoosier Park, but did not fare that well -- the best a fourth-place finish in a three-year-old conditioned race, timed in 1:57.3, and then disaster struck.
“He got injured on his knees after a few starts,” explained Petrova. “And I took him back to Toronto and got him operated on his knees by the great surgeon Dr. Marc Desjardins at Milton Equine in Toronto. He then went to my friend Cassandra Lecourt’s barn for his convalescence. She took real good care of him after his surgery. She made him swim, walk and everything she could to make his convalescence as efficient and possible. I give Milton Equine and Cassandra a lot of credit and gratitude.”
And the special care Kinnder Dangerzone received paid off for Petrova. After a slow qualifying race over a sloppy track, Kinnder Dangerzone returned to the racing wars at 3R.
He was 7-1 in his debut, which also happened to be the return of Pierre-Luc Roy to 3R. The driver took time off from the races last year to be with his family and was also returning to drive the colt, who he has won three straight races with in 2020, including the Quebec Championship.
The duo got away fourth in their return, but Roy felt his horse was ready and took him first-over and they ended up getting parked out the mile, but after collaring the pacesetter at the top of the stretch, Kinnder Dangerzone pulled away from the field to win by 2-1/4 lengths in a lifetime best mile of 1:59.3.
“He had trained really well at home,” said Petrova. “And he qualified really well on a sloppy -3 track. I was hoping and having faith that he would race well but was not expecting such a big mile like this. He is a tough horse, very tough, nothing stresses him and that’s a big quality.
“How will he race this Friday, I can’t answer that, I just hope he will be as good as he can be.”
Now for Pierre-Luc Roy, who also made his return to racing at 3R with the victory aboard Kinnder Dangerzone.
“It's always nice especially when you win a race and you receive congratulations,” said Roy, the older brother of Woodbine driving ace Louis-Philippe Roy. “On the other hand, I believe that the drivers are the ones who were the most bored to see me return to the races with a big win.
“As for Kinnder Dangerzone, it pleasantly surprised me the way he raced. To see his past race performances, I did not expect this kind of race despite the fact that we are undefeated together.
“It bodes well for us on Friday despite a rise in class,” he added. “I expect the same kind of performance from him on Friday and hope for the same results.”
Kinnder Dangerzone is the race favourite on Friday. He takes on some tough competition and is jumping up in class as Roy said.
His main competition will come from another Quebec-bred champion, Hall Win (Post 8), who was third by just a neck in his last start. Also in the race is Eau Naturelle (Post 6) and another Quebec-bred champion in the field is Wildwild Men (Post 7).
In the sixth race $6,000 Preferred Handicap Mares Pace a newcomer arrives at 3R named Askmysecretary, who starts from post five for trainer Yves Tessier. A seven-year-old mare by Mach Three, Askmysecretary will be driven by Pascal Berube. She has been racing at Grand River Raceway and Flamboro Downs where she has two wins, the fastest a 1:58.4 triumph. In her last start, she was third, race timed in 1:57.1.
The race favourite is Fancy Girl (Post 1) for Francis and Dominique Picard. She finished up the track last week but prior to that took a lifetime mark of 1:56.1 at 3R.
There are two return winners in the field: If You Knew Susie (Post 4) won her last start in 1:58.1 and Sophies Cam (Post 7) was a 1:57.3 victor at 3R last week.
First race post time on Friday is 4 p.m.
To view Friday's harness racing entries, click on the following link: Friday Entries - Hippodrome 3R.
(With files from Quebec Jockey Club)