Louis-Philippe Roy, now the leading money winning driver in all of Canada this season and second in dash victories, returns to the Hippodrome 3R this Sunday, competing in eight of the ten races.
It was just two weeks ago that Roy set the track record at H3R, winning eight races on the program, surpassing Yannick Gingras’s prior record of six wins set in 2013.
Roy is traveling throughout Canada to compete, driving at two and three tracks weekly. This week he is competing at Mohawk Racetrack, The Raceway at the Western Fair District and at H3R.
It will be difficult for Roy to repeat his eight wins from two weeks ago on Sunday, but he is listed on the two big favourites in the third round of the Quebec-Bred Series for four and five-year-old pacing mares and horses.
This is the final preliminary round and after Sunday, the eight top point earners in the series will return on Sunday, June 11 for the $30,000 finals in their respective divisions.
The older horses take center stage first in the fifth race with eight starters headlined by Half A Billion, who is seeking to make a clean sweep of the series. Two weeks ago, Roy won with Half A Billion in a romp by six open lengths. Last week it was driver Francis Picard winning with Half A Billion by two and a half lengths.
This week Half A Billion starts from the rail with Roy back in the sulky. Post 1 is usually not an advantage with the five-year-old gelding son of Sportswriter as he is not a strong leaver. Thus, the race shapes up to be a close contest with last year’s three-year-old champion, HP Patriote, drawing a good inside position in post three.
Also in the hunt with be the two full brothers, Mach On The Beach (Post 4) and Mr Match On Beach (Post 8), who have been second and third to Half A Billion the last two weeks. Other contenders include Sugarsam (Post 6) and Sports Authority (Post 5).
The mares are in the spotlights in the 8th race where Louis-Philippe Roy is back driving HP Sissy, who has also won the first two legs of the series. Last week she won with Guy Gagnon in the sulky by six and one-quarter lengths and has drawn Post 5 on Sunday.
Her stablemate, and racing as part of an entry, is HP Pandora from Post 3 for driver Stephane Brosseau. Another rival, Wanda Bayama, starts inside of them in Post 2 for Hall of Fame trainer-driver Yves Filion.
Other contenders include Skyfall Sena (Post 7) who was second to HP Sissy last week and HP Mercedes (Post 1), who was third in last week’s race.
In the ninth race Invitational Pace, Roy had his fair share of choices as he was listed to drive Code Word (Post 6), who has won the last two weeks or Royal Kee Wee N (Post 3), who two starts back gave Roy his eighth winner on his record-setting day at H3R.
But Roy has remained faithful to the owners who supported him since he first started driving back in 2014 and will instead drive Iron Phil from Post 2.
Ironically, it was owner-trainer Nathalie Migneault and co-owner Eric Dechamplain who gave Roy the first winning drive of his career back on August 1, 2014 at Woodstock Raceway in New Brunswick, on none other than Iron Phil and Roy has remained faithful to that stable.
TRACK NOTES: Sunday’s program features five Quebec-Bred Series Champions. They are Sugarsam (2015), Mr Mach Jimmy (2015), Miss Babe Delight (2015), HP Patriote (2016) and HP Sissy (2016).
H3R adds live racing starting this Tuesday, May 30 with first race post time at 7:00 p.m. The opening night program has nine races headlined by the opening round of the $100,000 Quebec-Bred Series for four and five-year-old trotting mares and horses.
To view entries, click the following link: Sunday Entries - Hippodrome 3R.
(with files from the Quebec Jockey Club)