Driver Stephane Brosseau delivered what you might call a clutch performance Sunday at Hippodrome 3R.
Brosseau started the day two wins out of fourth-place in the Hippodrome 3R driver standings, and only the top four at the end of Sunday afternoon's card secured spots in the track drivers' tournament next Sunday.
He responded by winning three races to move into fourth ahead of Pascal Berube, who was shut out.
And he did it the hard way, winning two races from post eight and one from post nine, with a pair of longshots, 63-1 shot Vital Pearl and 15-1 chance Tommy Abe, along with 4-5 favourite DGs Woodstock.
Berube still had a chance to even things up in late afternoon with 3-5 favourite Survival Guide, but Brosseau parked him through a punishing first half of :57.4 with his horse, Thebestofme, who clung to the lead until deep stretch before being caught by Dont Rustle Myluck in 1:58.
Brosseau joins Sylvain Lacaille, Mario Charron and Jocelyn Gendron as the drivers who won their way into the drivers' tournament. The other competitors are 20-something up-and-comers Steeven Genois, Louis-Philippe Turcotte and Pierre-Luc Roy, and one of Hippodrome 3R's most illustrious graduates, Yannick Gingras, now based in the U.S. and one of the sport's biggest stars.
All eight drivers will start in eight races from eight different post positions next Sunday. They'll share $2,000 in prize money.
To view Sunday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Sunday Results - Hippodrome 3R.
(Trot Insider exclusive by Paul Delean)