There were five divisions of the second round of the Future Stars Series Tuesday evening for two-year-old pacing colts and fillies at Hippodrome 3R, and a heavy favourite was pushed to the limit in the first division.
The undefeated Hurryupatthebeach ($2.10) gave everyone a scare at the start of the first race, the first of three divisions for the fillies.
The daughter of Up The Credit, driven by Pascal Berube, broke stride at the start of the race from post four. Esprit Dequipe (Pierre Luc Roy) took the early lead with Majelyca (Marie Claude Auger) grabbing the two-hole seat.
But by the opening quarter mile in :28.2, Hurryupatthebeach and Berube came charging back into the race and took the lead away from Esprit Dequipe and the race was all but over at that point.
Hurryupatthebeach then led the rest of the one mile race, pulling away from the field and won by eight and three-quarter lengths in 1:59.4. Akita Bayama (Yves Filion) was second with Olis Spirit (Simon Delisle) third.
Now 5-for-5, Hurryupatthebeach is trained and co-owned and bred by Pierre Leclerc with Gina Bragagnolo of Louiseville.
The fifth race second filly division saw D Gs Fairystars and driver Jonathan Lachance take the early lead away from Black Elektra (Francis Picard) and then wire the field in 2:02.4. Cooking the Speed (Stephane Gendron) had come first-over and mounted a strong challenge on the outside but ended up second by three-quarters of a length. HP Xanadu (Stephane Brosseau) was third.
It was the first career victory for D Gs Fairystars, a daughter of Mach Three, trained and co-bred by Guylaine Fortin with Karine Surprenant of St. Paul. She paid $4.70 to win.
The eighth race third filly division went to H3R invader Better Now ($4.00) and driver Stephane Brosseau, who took the lead away from Moneymakehersmile (Guy Gagnon) and then held off a first-over challenge in the backstretch by Audi Bayama (Yves Filion) before pulling away for a three-length triumph in 2:00.1. Moneymake was second with Audi Bayama third.
It was the second win in four starts for Better Now, a daughter of Betterthancheddar, trained by Pierre Ouellette, owned by Ecurie Largo Inc of Laval and Ecurie Pierre Jr Ouellette of Joliette.
Unbeaten D Gs De Vito ($5.10) and driver Jonathan Lachance won the seventh race second division for the colts. They came first-over against pacesetter Angelo Benjo (Pascal Berube) and took control at the three-quarters and then held off a late challenge by Dernier Essai (Pierre Luc Roy) to win by one and one-quarter lengths in 2:00.1.
It was a lifetime mark for the son of Sportswriter and his third straight win for trainer Guylaine Fortin and breeder/owner Daniel Suprenant of Saint-Valentin.
The third race second colt division was an easy wire-to-wire triumph for YS Sunshine ($3.40) and driver Stephane Gendron. They won by four and one-quarter lengths in 1:59.1. Guinness Panic (Jonathan Lachance) was second with GA Speed Gaby (Pascal Berube) third.
It was the second straight win in the series for the gelded son of Sunshine Beach, trained by Michel Allard for breeder/owner Yves Sarrazin of La Presentation.
The highest win payoff in the past two years took place in the race when driver Stephane Gendron upset the field from post nine with CK Magic at odds of 77-1, paying $157.20 to win.
Requested (Francis Picard) won the 9th race pace in 1:55.3 and continues to be the winningest horse at H3R this season with seven wins.
Driver Jonathan Lachance had the hot hands Tuesday, scoring a driving triple.
Post Time Sunday for the Prix D’Ete program starts at 12:50 p.m. For a free race program, 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.