It took the harness racing photo finish camera in order to declare the winner of the third race $4,500 Preferred Handicap Trot at the Hippodrome 3R on Friday (August 7).
Sir Chopin, a 22-1 longshot for owner, trainer and driver Kevin Maguire, was the first out of the gate and led nearly every step of the one-mile trot.
The spoiler for the upset win was one of the mares in the race, Missionoftheheart, who sat in along the rail the entire race for driver Stephane Gendron.
As horses moved to the outside in the backstretch, Gendron kept Missionoftheheart on the inside, caught up to Sir Chopin after the three-quarters and then collared the pacesetter at the wire to win by a nose in 2:00.3. Precieuse CC (Claude Beausoleil) was third.
The win was the second of the season for Missionoftheheart. The six-year-old mare by Manofmanymissions is owned by trainer Michel Allard and Allard Racing Inc. She paid $6.10 to win.
In the second race Preferred Handicap Pace for the mares, driver Samuel Fillion gave D Gs Fairystars a textbook drive in scoring a mild upset.
The nine-horse field was well matched as Twice An Angel (Stephane Gendron) was parked out going for the early lead by 76-1 longshot Bemmol Kalie and driver Daniel Laflamme to the opening quarter-mile in :28.1.
Once settled on the lead, Twice An Angel was able to back down the pace to the half-mile in :59.2, but that drew a first-over challenge from Hammering Haley (Stephane Brosseau), who forced Twice An Angel to pick up the pace. At this point in the mile, D Gs Fairystar was in eighth place, fourth-over on the outside.
As they raced down the backstretch, Brosseau dropped Hammering Haley into the pocket seat with Y C Easy (Steeven Genois) left first-over and grinding it out against Twice An Angel. Meanwhile, Fillion got D Gs Fairytale into high gear, moving three-wide into second-over position at the three-quarters in 1:28.2.
Coming around the final turn, D Gs Fairystar continued to gain ground, fanning three-wide at the top of the stretch. Then with a final late kick, Fillion urged D Gs Fairystar to collar Twice An Angel before the wire to win by a long neck in 1:58. Y C Easy was third.
The win was the third this year for D Gs Fairystar. The four-year-old by Mach Three is trained by Guylaine Fortin, who co-owns and bred the mare with Daniel Surprenant of Saint-Valentin, Que. She paid $10 to win.
The fastest mile of the afternoon came in the seventh race Preferred Handicap Pace for the older horses. The race belonged to Speed To Market and driver Pascal Berube from the very start.
With Maracasso (Carol Voyer) dogging the race leader, Speed To Market paid no never mind to Maracasso as he cut fractions of :27.2, :57.1 and 1:26.2 before pulling away in the stretch for a 3-3/4-length triumph in 1:56.1. Brunos From Mars (Pierre Luc Roy) was second with Outlaw Turn N Burn (Francis Picard) third.
The win was the second in a row and fifth of the season for Speed To Market. The five-year-old gelded son of Betterthancheddar is trained by Yves Tessier for owner Francois Morin of Beauceville, Que. He paid $6.60 to win.
Track Notes: Stephane Gendron led all drivers with a triple on the day. Maxime Velaye led all trainers with two wins and is now the leading trainer at H3R with eight wins this meet. Unbeaten Enavant ($2.80) became the winningest horse at H3R this season, winning the fourth race pace on Friday, his fourth victory of the year. On Saturday, the H3R hosts the Quebec Regional Fair Circuit races with both young horses and young men and women competing towards their professional harness racing licenses. Post time is 1 p.m. Sunday will mark the the start of the Quebec-Bred stakes series. There will be four divisions of the opening round of the Breeders Trophy Series for three-year-old pacers. There are two divisions for both the colts and the fillies. Post time is 1 p.m. on Sunday.
To view Friday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Friday Results - Hippodrome 3R.
(With files from Quebec Jockey Club)