The fields are set for the Quebec-Bred Series Finals, which will take place this Sunday (June 26) at the Hippodrome 3R. There will be four $30,000 finals for four and five-year-old trotters and pacers.
The third race is the first final for trotting horses and despite only six entering the race, three of them could be neck and neck at the finish wire.
Maximuscle (post 2) is the morning line favourite and rightly so. He is seeking to become the first horse ever to win all four series finals. He was victorious at age two, three and four and this is his last race in the series.
Trained by Maxime Velaye and driven through the series all four years by Mario Charron, Maximuscle won two of the three preliminary rounds of the series this season for owner/breeder Ecurie Provoquante of Mirabel, QC. In his last series win he showed a sharp :28.2 last quarter mile, winning in 1:58.2, the fastest winning time this year for the gelded son of Angus Hall.
Next in the race is track record holder and series champion from last year, Seeyou Men. This son of Muscle Mass, now age four, was all the rage last year, sweeping the series and setting the track record with his 1:58.4 triumph for driver Robert Shepherd and trainer Isabelle Darveau.
Owned by Catheline Pelletier with breeder Chantal Gravel of Quebec, Seeyou Men won the second round of the series over Maximuscle by a head.
Me The Boss starts from post one for driver Louis-Philippe Roy and trainer Francis Richard and he was able to beat Maximuscle in the third leg of the series by a neck and thus is another major contender in the field.
The trotting mares do battle in the sixth race with four of the eight finalists having won preliminary rounds, and any of them have the chance to wear the championship crown once the dust settles in their final.
SOS Afterthestorm starts from post five for driver/trainer Francine Morrissette and won the second round in a lifetime mark. Viva Bayama starts from post six for trainer Carl Duguay who is giving up the drive to two-time defending 3R driving champion, Denis St Pierre, who won the final with this mare last year.
SOS Striking Monte goes from post seven for driver Pascal Berube. She was so impressive in her last start in the series, breaking stride at the start and then coming back from ninth place to win it all. SOS Revange in post eight for driver Gaetan Lamy had won two of the four preliminary rounds, the fastest a lifetime mark of 1:59.2.
The eighth race is for the pacing mares and Chaleurs Fantasy from post two is the big favourite for trainer/driver Carl Duguay. She has won three of the four preliminary rounds and was second in the other. She has the fastest win record in the series, 1:57.1 and will be tough once again.
Her main rival will be Miss Bro from the rail for driver Pascal Berube. They beat Chaleurs Fantasy two starts back with a very impressive first-over grind it out triumph. Other contenders include last year’s series champion, Voodoo Charm (post 7) and Hawaiian Drummond (post 8).
The ninth race final division for pacing horses will be perhaps the fastest and most competitive.
Track record holder Atomic Million AM looms as the toughest foe in the race from post one for driver Sylvain Lacaille. After finishing first and second in the opening rounds he went back to Rideau Carleton for trainer Alain Martin was second by a head in back to back starts in 1:53.1.
Last week Sugarsam showed he is has returned to winning form, grinding out a very impressive win in 1:55.3 and will start from post three for driver Denis St Pierre. Sugarsam still holds the track record at 3R at age two and was last year’s series champion at age three.
Both Electric Western (post 2) and Mach On The Beach (post 8) won divisions of the series too while Half A Billion (post five), whose best outing in the series was only a third place finish, came back last week at 3R in an overnight event and cut loose for driver Louis-Philippe Roy with a six and one-half length romp in 1:53.2, the fastest mile this year at 3R.
Other contenders also include D Gs Justlikethat (post 7), C L Art Magic (post 6) and Killer Thriller (post 4); all have the ability to upset the field.
With a forecast of sunny skies and temperatures perhaps as high as 90f (32c), some of the series and track records at the Hippodrome 3R could well be in jeopardy.
(QJC)