Trois-Rivieres, QC – Claudi P V and owner/trainer/driver Serge Nadeau of St-Marcel-De-Richelieu tipped three-wide on the final turn of the third race trot and came charging down the stretch at odds of 47-1 in winning at the Hippodrome 3R Saturday afternoon.
R Rkadabra (Marc Lemay) cut the early fractions with Stonebridge Alert (Steeven Genois) dogging them from the start. When Stonebridge Alert was parked out against a determined R Rkadabra, Nadeau took advantage of the speed duel, tipping Claudi P V second over and then three-wide after the three-quarter mile marker.
Despite being parked out three-wide on the final turn, Claudi P V kept her momentum going and pulled away at the finish, winning by one and one-half lengths over Stonebridge Alert with Lucky Promesses (Pascal Berube) third.
The time of the one-mile race was 2:00.3, a lifetime mark for Claudi P V. She is a four-year-old mare by Holiday Road and was bred by Scott-Marcel Brouillard, who co-owns the horse with Nadeau. Across the board Claudi VP paid $96.60, $42.10 and $11.90. It was the highest win payout this season at the Hippodrome 3R and Claudi P V’s first win in three starts this year.
Serge Nadeau make it a training double in the very next race for two-year-old pacers. His Windfall Blue Chip filly, Nikita Sena, made her pari-mutuel debut a winning effort in a romp. She led from the start for driver Steeven Genois, scoring an eight and three-quarter length triumph in 2:04.2. She paid just $2.10 to win for owner/breeders Nadeau and Scott-Yannick Corriveau of Quebec City.
The eighth race was the Ladies Driver Challenge Pace with eight-woman drivers and the contest began with a Calvary charge for control of the early lead.
Driver Lena Ouellet left with Adamncam and would not let anyone pass her by as Fortune Fella (Caroline Maheux) was first-over and Old Fashioned Gal (Guylaine Gagnon) was parked out three-wide past the opening first quarter mile in :28.2.
Still parked out three-wide around the second turn, Fortune Fella broke stride and carried Fortune Fella way wide and out of the race. Adamncam was alone on the lead past the half mile in :59.
Then in the backstretch the race favorite Open Water with driver Johanne Letourneau came charging first-over and blew by Adamncam and Heaven For Sure (Gabrielle St Onge) by the three-quarters in 1:30 and then was home free, winning by two lengths in 2:00.3. Heaven For Sure was second with Angelo Benjo (Jessica Turenne) third.
For winning driver Johanne Letourneau of St Edouard De Lotbin, it was her first victory ever at H3R. She had not driven in a race since 2008. A 12-year-old gelded son of Artiscape, it was the second win this year for Open Water. He is trained by Sylvain Fontaine and paid $3.40 to win.
Track Notes: Live harness racing continues at the Hippodrome 3R on Sunday with an eight-race program starting at 1:00 pm. Featured will be the third race Mare Preferred-Handicap Pace where Y C Easy (post 3) will try again for an upset victory like she did last week at 6-1 odds. For a free race program, visit www.hippodrome3r.ca.
From the Quebec Jockey Club