The Light Speed came from off the pace to win the $10,000 Preferred Handicap Pace, and I Ama Rocket broke the track record for an aged pacing gelding, the highlights of six driving wins for Guy Gagnon on Sunday, Sept. 21 at Rideau Carleton Raceway.
Gagnon dropped his trainee back into fifth as a group of four horses left in front of him, with Shotgun Jerry (Stephane Pouliot) taking the early lead before ceding it to Mythic Gambler (Robert Shepherd) at the quarter in :26.2. There was no movement in the field of six to the half, but Gagnon put The Light Speed into play as they turned towards the backstretch. The gelding moved past horses uncovered down the backstretch, putting the leader under pressure as they raced to three-quarters in 1:22.4 before forging to the front coming off the final turn and rolling home to a 1:51 victory by 1-1/4 lengths. Early Action (Pascal Berube) came on late and snagged second from Mythic Gambler.
The Light Speed has won three straight starts and extended his streak of hitting the board to 16 races. The Moon Beam-Jayma gelding has won the Rideau Preferred nine times this season. Michel Nolette of Princeville, Que. owns the seven-year-old, who is now a 71-time winner with $518,689 in earnings from 159 lifetime starts. The win price was $5.20.
Gagnon also drove and trained I Ama Rocket, who blasted off to a track-record mile in the fifth race. The Custard The Dragon-Machs Rocket gelding was never headed, and he dictated a tempo of :27.1, :56, and 1:23 and kicked clear to win by four lengths and put 1:50.2 on the timer to break the record for an older gelded pacer. Foxhunt (Shepherd) finished second, followed by Major Fernco N (Marie-Claude Auger). I Ama Rocket, owned by Louise Ricard of Gatineau, Que., tallied his 49th lifetime victory in 206 starts and upped his bankroll to $457,691. He paid $2.60 to win. The previous record of 1:50.3 was initially set in 2007 by Boulder Creek and tied by Priceless Edition in 2010, Mythic Gambler in 2024, and The Light Speed earlier this year.
Gagnon’s six-win evening included another winner from his own stable, Wall Street Bell ($5.30) in the opener. As a trainer, he is 73-for-228 this season for a win rate of 32 per cent. He is once again well ahead in the Rideau drivers’ standings, leading Shepherd by 55 victories, and is on his way to a ninth consecutive title at the Ottawa, Ont.-area oval.
His other three wins all came aboard horses trained by Mandy Archer, the track’s leading trainer. They combined for victories with Mae Lose Control ($2.10) in the fourth race, Jack Wick ($2.30) in the sixth, and Logan Behold ($2.30) in the ninth. Archer increased her seasonal total at Rideau to 84 wins and is 30 clear of Gagnon, who is second on the trainers’ leaderboard.
To view Sunday’s harness racing results, click the following link: Sunday Results - Rideau Carleton Raceway.
(Standardbred Canada; photo of The Light Speed winning on Sept. 21)