Trois-Rivieres, QC – The Quebec Jockey Club hosted four divisions of the Breeders Cup Series for three-year-old pacers Sunday at the Hippodrome 3R and D Gs De Vito was the fastest second round winner.
There were two colt and two filly divisions, each racing for a purse of $7,500C. After the third leg, the eight top point earners will return for the $65,000C finals on Sunday, September 8.
The second race, first colt division saw Ashleysbest (Pascal Berube) go right to the early lead as the son of Shanghai Phil was going for his fifth win in six starts for trainer Sylvain Cote.
Past the opening quarter mile in :27, Ashleysbest held the field at bay with GA Speed Gaby (Guy Gagnon) sitting the pocket trip to the half mile in :56.3.
Through the backstretch Ashleysbest kept up his torrid pace, passing the three-quarters in 1:24.2. Ashleysbest then started to show he was tiring as GA Speed Gaby caught the race leader and D Gs Vito with Jonathan Lachance driving was coming three-wide after the race leaders.
All three horses battled it out down the stretch and D Gs Vito showed he was the strong horse, coming on late to win by three-quarters of a length in 1:54.3. GA Speed Gaby was second with Ashleysbest third.
It was a lifetime mark and the third win this year for D Gs De Vito, a gelded son of Sportswriter who is trained by Antonio Valente and was bred and is owned by Daniel Surprenant of Saint-Valentin. He paid $4.80 to win.
The second colt division was race three where YS Sunshine and driver Jonathan Lachance shot to the early lead with race favorite HP Napoleon (Stephane Brosseau) dropping into the two-hole spot.
After an opening quarter mile in :27.3 and :57.3 half, the action started to pick up as Brosseau pulled the pocket with HPO Napoleon and came after Lachance and YS Sunshine.
Past the three-quarters in 1:26.3, HP Napoleon kept grinding it out against YS Sunshine and took over the lead on the final turn. He then went on to win by one length in 1:56.1. Angers Bayama (Yves Filion) closed well to be second with Riot (Stephane Gendron) third.
It was the fourth win in eight starts this year for HP Napoleon, a gelded son of Big Jim who is trained by Francis Richard and is owned by Claude Hamel of Ayer'S Cliff. He paid $3.20 to win.
The first division for the fillies was race four and it all belonged to Hall of Famer Yves Filion and Akita Bayama.
After grind it out to the lead by the opening quarter mile in :28, Black Elektra (Marie Claude Auger) was on the lead with Fancy Girl (Francis Picard) sitting the pocket trip. This all changed as Filion first-up with Akita Bayama and took command of the race.
Past the half mile in :58.2 there were no challengers for Akita Bayama to contend with until past the three-quarters in 1:28.4. That was when Better Now and driver Guy Gagnon came charging three-wide and by the middle of the final turn, was first-over and gaining on Akita Bayama.
Battling it out down the stretch under urging from Filion, Akita Bayama found another gear and held on to win by three-quarters of a length in 1:59. HP Xandu (Brosseau) was second with Better Now third.
It was a lifetime mark and the first win in three starts this year for Akita Bayama. The daughter of Sportswriter is trained by Yves Filion and was bred and is owned by Bayama Farms of Saint-Andre-D'Argenteil and Jacques Damours of Laval. She paid $5.70 to win.
Yves Filion then made it a driving, trainer, owner, breeder double in the second filly division, upsetting the field with 14-1 longshot Audi Bayama.
The seventh race began with Cooking The Speed and driver Stephane Gendron getting the lead from Majelyca (Marie Claude Auger) by the opening quarter mile in :28.3.
Undefeated Esprit Dequipe (Tyler Jones) came first-over by the half mile in :59.1 as she was seeking her sixth straight win, all at H3R. Following second over was Audi Bayama and Filion.
As the field came to the three-quarters in 1:28.4, Filion came three-wide with Audi Bayama, blowing by Esprit Dequipe and then going after Cooking The Speed. Also, going four-wide on the final turn to get into contention was D Gs Fairystars and driver Jonathan Lachance).
Down the stretch all three horses battled to the wire with Audi Bayama scoring the win by a neck in a lifetime mark of 1:58.4. D Gs Fairystars was second with Cooking The Speed third.
Sired by Sportswriter, the third Sportswriter sired winner of the four division, it was just the second start this year for Audi Bayama and her sixth career race. She paid a healthy $30.40 to win.
The sixth race Preferred-Handicap Trot saw Holiday Party (Berube) cut the mile with Capteur De Reve (S. Gendron) grabbing the pocket seat. Then by the half mile, Ice O Late and driver Jocelyn Gendron came first-over with Kinnder Dangerous (Pierre Luc Roy) second over.
Despite making a break at the start of the race, Ice O Late was able to grind it out on the outside against Holiday Party and then draw off at the finish to win by two lengths in 2:00.2. Holiday Party was second with Precieuse CC (Claude Beausoleil) third.
It was the second win this year for the seven-year-old gelding by Yankee Glide. He is trained by Luc Chouinard and is owned by Claude Surprenant of Farnham. He paid $6.20 to win.
The eighth race Preferred-Handicap Pace all belonged to Saulsbrook Peach, who led from start to finish for trainer-driver Guy Gagnon in 1:55.3.
Saulsbrook Peach held the field at bay for most of the mile, winning by one and three-quarter lengths. Kinnder Jackson (Pierre Luc Roy) had come first-over and held game for second place with Hooter Shooter (Stephane Gendron) third.
Atomic Million AM (Jocelyn Gendron) was going for his sixth straight win and despite having a good second-over trip, was unable to keep up with the pace and finished last.
For Saulsbrook Peach it was his seventh win this year. He is owned by Catheline Pelletier of Mirabel and paid $3.10 to win.
The Filly and Mare Preferred-Handicap Pace saw Lit De Rose and driver Stephane Gendron lead from start to finish, holding off Rainbow Palace (Francis Picard) to win by one length in 1:57. Uptown Woman (Pascal Berube) was third.
It was Lit De Rose's third win this year for trainer Maxime Velaye and breeder/owner Claude Corbeil of Mirabel. She paid just $2.40 to win.
Track Notes: Yves Filion and Stephane Gendron each had driving doubles. Filion also had two training wins as did Francis Richard. Richard is now tied with Michel Allard at 15 wins for leading trainer at H3R with Yves Tessier a close third with 14 wins. The 9th race was the two-mile special pace that saw Appleby Hanover and driver Kevin Waldron from Bermuda winning with ease in 4:07.1. The Hippodrome 3R will be closed for live racing for ten days due to the Grand Prix Auto Race Week in Trois-Riveres. The next live race day will be Thursday, August 8. First race post time at 7:00 pm and it will be NASCAR Race Night with NASCAR drivers coming to H3R to compete in an exhibition race. For more information, visit www.quebecjockeyclub.com.
From the Quebec Jockey Club