At odds of 19-1, Paradise Moni was given an aggressive drive by Denis St. Pierre and brought an end to 1-9 race favourite Captain PV’s five-race win streak in capturing his $10,000 division of the Breeders Trophy Series on Friday, Aug. 16 at Hippodrome 3R.
In the sixth race co-feature for three-year-old trotting colts, Wild Dream Men (Guy Gagnon) shot to the early lead over Captain PV (Marie-Claude Auger) to the first quarter in :29.2. St. Pierre then moved first-over with Paradise Moni and they started to advance towards the leaders and with a bold three-wide brush around Wild Dream Men — who made a break, but regrouped to land in third. Paradise Moni fronted the field to the half mile in :59.2.
Wild Dream Men and Gagnon then came back first-over entering the backstretch as Paradise Moni was comfortable on the lead to the three-quarters in 1:29.1.
From there Paradise Moni and St. Pierre pulled away from Captain PV in the stretch to win by two and three-quarter lengths in 1:58.4. Captain PV was second with Wild Dream Men third.
The time of the mile was a lifetime mark for Paradise Moni and just two fifths of a second off of tying the track record for trotting colts. Trained by Jean-Francois Maguire for the Maguire Stable of Sainte-Marie, Que, Paradise Moni (International Moni - Jessies Song) paid $40.20 to win.
In the ninth race, the $10,000 division for the trotting fillies, it took the photo finish camera to declare Cleomax Duharas the winner by a head over race favourite Sensi Amnesia with MVPs Daughter third by a neck in the three-horse photo.
Cleveland Misska (Guy Gagnon) was first on the lead but before the first quarter she went off-stride, allowing Sensi Amnesia and driver Marie-Claude Auger to take command of the field to the quarter in :29.2 with MVPs Daughter sitting the pocket trip.
They raced single file to the half mile in 1:00.1 and then in the backstretch, driver Loic Gueriel came first-over with Cleomax Duharas and started to gain on the race leaders at the three-quarters in 1:29.3.
As they raced down the stretch, Cleomax Duharas was finally able to collar Sensi Amnesia and win in 1:59.3. MVPs Daughter was a close third.
Trained by Marc-Andre Simoneau, it was a lifetime mark and the second straight win in four lifetime starts for Cleomax Duharas (Muscle Mass - Cleopatre Duharas). She is co-owned by the Desjardins Noreau Stable, Marc-Andre Simoneau, Dany Fontaine and Jean Fontaine. She paid $6.30 to win.
Undefeated Kinnder Dangerzone posted his fourth straight win at H3R for driver Marie-Claude Auger in the 5th race trot. The son of Northern Escort covered the mile in 1:59.1 for owner-breeder-trainer Denitza Petrova, paying just $2.10 to win.
Track Notes: Stephane Brosseau led the way with a driving triple on Friday and Robert Shepherd had a driving double. Denitza Petrova had a training double. Live harness racing resumes on Sunday when the Quebec Jockey Club hosts the $200,000 Prix d’Ete for four-year-old pacers. It is the richest horse race of the year in all of Quebec. First post time on Sunday is 12:00 noon.
For the results from Friday's card of harness racing in Quebec, click the following link: Friday Results - Hippodrome 3R.
(Quebec Jockey Club)