Flower Sena, a 19-1 longshot, brought an end to Hurryupatthebeach’s five-race win streak this afternoon (Sunday, Aug. 26) at the Hippodrome 3R.
Competing in the fourth race, which was the first division of the Future Stars Series for two-year-old pacing fillies, Hurryupatthebeach and driver Pascal Berube were the overwhelming 1-4 betting favourite and the race started out that way.
Berube sent Hurryupatthebeach right to the front from Post 1, and leaving from Post 5 was Flower Sena and driver Jocelyn Gendron, who took the two-hole position away from Better Now and driver Stephane Brosseau.
They raced to the quarter mile in :28.4 and that was when Brosseau came first-over with Better Now, the 2-1 second choice in the race. Better Now rushed up, collared Hurryupatthebeach, and nearly took the lead away on the second turn, but that’s when disaster struck.
On the second turn, just as it seemed that Better Now would take command, the filly shied to the outside and then went off-stride.
That left Berube and Hurryupatthebeach all alone on the lead with Flower Sena and Gendron still sitting on their backs past the half mile in :58.3. Berube then backed off the pace going to the three-quarter mile marker in 1:29.1. It was then that Gendron got Flower Sena on the move.
Sweeping to the outside on the final turn, Flower Sena continued to gain ground on Hurryupatthebeach, and then in the stretch they passed Hurryupatthebeach and went on to win by two lengths in 2:00.
Hurryupatthebeach held for second place with Cooking The Speed third for driver Stephane Gendron.
For Flower Sena, a daughter of Windfall Blue Chip, it was a lifetime mark and her third win in six starts this year for trainer Serge Nadeau of Scott, who also bred and owns the filly. She paid $41.50 to win.
Now, the only undefeated horse in the Future Stars Series is the colt, D Gs De Vito, who competed in the lone colt division of the series in the sixth race and he did not disappoint his wagering fans.
It was Guinness Panic and driver Stephane Brosseau who took early command of the race with Dernier Essai (Pierre Luc Roy) sitting in second place past the opening quarter mile in :28.1.
Then driver Jonathan Lachance took D Gs De Vito first-over from fifth place and by the second turn they were on the lead and going to the half mile in :58.4.
Along the backstretch, GA Speed Gaby (Pascal Berube) came first-over but could not catch up to D Gs De Vito as they sped past the three-quarters in 1:28.1.
Down the stretch it seemed that D Gs De Vito and Lachance held the field at bay, winning by two and one-quarter lengths in 1:58. Guinness Panic was second with GA Speed Gaby third.
Sired by Sportswriter, it was the fourth straight win for D Gs De Vito. He is trained by Guylaine Fortin and was bred and is owned by Daniel Surprenant of Saint-Valentin. He paid $4.50 to win.
In the eighth race, second filly division of the Future Stars Series, there were three major lead changes in the race.
It was SOS Maeva (Daniel LaFlamme) first in front at the opening quarter mile, then Majelyca (Jocelyn Gendron) took command and led past the half mile before HP Xanadu (Stephane Brosseau) rushed first-over and took the lead before the three-quarter mile mark.
At that time was when Hall of Famer Yves Filion came first over with the favourite, Audi Bayama, and they inched their way to collar HP Xanadu and then come on in the stretch to win by one and one-half lengths in 2:03.
Broncos Sena (Pascal Berube) followed Audi Bayama second-over to be second with Olis Spirit (Simon Delisle) third.
A daughter of Sportswriter, it was Audi Bayama’s second win in three lifetime starts. She is trained by Filion and owned and was bred by Filion’s Bayama Farms of Saint-Andre-D’Argenteuil. She paid $3.10 to win.
Track Notes: Jocelyn Gendron made it a driving double on the day when he wired the field in the fifth race with three-time Quebec Series Champion, Wildriverbumblebee ($3.40), winning in a romp by seven and one-half lengths in 1:54. It was the fastest mile on the afternoon card.
Requested ($3.20) widened his lead as the winningest horse at H3R this season with his eighth win in ten starts. He won the ninth race pace in 1:56.3 for driver Francis Picard.
There is no more Tuesday night racing at H3R, so the next live race card will be next Sunday. First-race post time will be at 12:50 p.m.
To view the harness racing results for Sunday at H3R, click the following link: Sunday Results – Hippodrome 3R.
For more information, visit quebecjockeyclub.com.
(Quebec Jockey Club)