Even before the question of whether the tortoise could beat the hare took place, the bigger question was whether the mares could beat the horses.
That question will be answered Friday at Hippodrome 3R as Precieuse CC and Eau Naturelle takes on a field of five male rivals in the seventh race Preferred-Handicap Trot feature.
Precieuse CC starts from post three for owner, trainer, driver Claude Beausoleil of Notre-Dame-Des-Prairies. She has raced against male competition the past two years with good success. The five-year-old Angus Hall mare has three wins this season, the fastest a 1:57.3 score at 3R, all against male competition. At ages two and three Precieuse CC was the Quebec Champion for her age, gait and gender.
Two starts back in this class she was a game second-place finisher by a nose to Keepall in 1:58. This week she again faces the best trotters of the season.
Eau Naturelle is the other mare in the field and starts from post one for driver Simon Delisle. Two starts back the daughter of Windsong Espoir won this class in 2:00.3 on a sloppy track.
Last week’s top trot winner, Severus Hanover, starts alongside Precieuse CC in post four. He was given a perfect drive by Stephane Brosseau and responded with a 1:59 triumph, his sixth victory of the season for trainer-owner Yannick Martel of L’Assomption.
Also in the field is Capteur De Reve (Post 7) for driver Stephane Gendron. Now age six, the gelded son of Muscle Mass is a four-time Quebec Champion for trainer Maxie Velaye. He was second to Severus Hanover last week and the prior to that had notched his fourth win of the year in 2:00.1 on a sloppy track.
Rounding out the well-matched field are Keepall (Post 6) with driver Pascal Berube, Bucketlist Hanover (Post 5) for driver Jocelyn Gendron, and Sir Chopin (Post 2) with trainer-driver Carol Voyer.
First race post time Friday is 1:00 p.m. For a free race program, visit hippodrome3r.ca. To view the entries for Friday's card, click the following link: Friday Entries - Hippodrome 3R.
(Quebec Jockey Club)