Miss Babe Delight continued her winning ways, leading from start to finish in capturing the $35,200 Lucien Bombardier Stakes at the Hippodrome 3R on Sunday afternoon.
The racetrack was labeled 'sloppy' with a four second allowance for the stakes race, which was just for two-year-old pacing fillies, as earlier rain storms pummeled the track surface. But the muddy surface did not deter the racing action in the ninth race feature.
Starting from post three, driver Mario Ballargeon sent Miss Babe Delight right to the front, but HP Sissy and driver Guy Gagnon were also determined on the outside. They pressed Miss Babe Delight to a speedy :29 opening quarter-mile and kept the pressure on to the half-mile marker in 1:00.2.
Then, as if the rest of the field had had enough, Miss Babe Delight and Ballargeon took off and opened up on the field after three-quarters in 1:32.3 and went on to win by the length of the stretch in 2:05.4. The official margin of victory was 15 open lengths. Art De Gagnee (Mario Charron) was second with HP Sissy third.
During the race, a bumping incident took place between Casimir Pucker Up and SOS Bambie. SOS Bambie failed to finish the race. Drivers Denis St Pierre and Gaetan Lamy, as well as both horses, were uninjured.
"After seeing how the earlier races went, I had come to the conclusion that it would be better today to be on the lead and that is what I did," said Baillargeon. "I had a little moment of hesitation when HP Sissy came up alongside us, but I soon changed his mind, I kept on the lead, period. The strategy worked out very well.”
The win was the second in a row for the daughter of Bettors Delight and followed up her Quebec-Bred Series Championship victory from last weekend. Trained by Dany Fontaine and owned by Ecurie Gaetan Bono Inc. of Montreal Que, Miss Babe Delight has now earned $66,400 this season with three wins in 10 starts. She paid $5.00 to win as the 3-2 favourite.
One of the “pioneers” of horse racing in Canada, but especially Quebec, Lucien Bombardier devoted his entire life to the industry. Born and raised near Bedford, Que., Bombardier retired in 1992 after 16 years on the board of directors of the Canadian Standardbred Horse Society.
Track Notes: Mario Charron had the hot hands among the drivers Sunday, scoring a triple on the afternoon.
Live racing resumes at the Hippodrome 3R next Sunday with post time at 1:30 p.m.
To view Sunday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Sunday Results - Hippodrome 3R.
(With files from QJC)