Celia Bayama beats male rivals at H3R
At 0h04, on November 6, 2023 • By STEVE WOLF
Celia Bayama (Bettors Delight), one of only two mares in the field, was able to handle a first-over challenge in beating her male rivals in the Preferred Pace Sunday (Nov. 5) afternoon at the Hippodrome 3R.
The 9th race feature started off with Siddhartha (Marie-Claude Auger) going to the early lead with the race favorite, Sports Bettor (Pascal Berube) grabbing the two-hole trip to the first quarter in :27.4.
Then coming to the half mile, driver Stephane Brosseau came first-over with Celia Bayama with D Gs De Vito (Jonathan Lachance) getting the second-over cover. The half was backed down to :58.1.
Celia Bayama continued to grind it out first-over against Siddhartha passing the three-quarters in 1:27.4. They raced neck and neck around the final turn and down the stretch before Celia Bayama pulled away and then held off D Gs De Vito to win by three-quarters of a length in 1:58. Kiss Me Bad (Steven Gagnon), the other mare in the field, finished third.
It was the fifth win this year for Celia Bayama. The former Quebec bred champion is trained by Jack Reid, who co-owns the five-year-old mare with his wife, Marie Claude Reid and Mario Menard. She paid $11.60 to win.
In the 3rd race trot Sunday, it was the final appearance for the 14-year-old Caroluzzo (Musclesexdrodinar). The senior warhorse raced gamely in his last race, finishing third to On The Sly (Broadway Hall), who won by three-quarters of a length in 2:04 for driver Jocelyn Gendron, paying $24.50 to win.
Bred and owned his entire career by Michael Cote Gagnon, Caroluzzo was trained by Daniel Martin for most of the trotter’s career. Caroluzzo retires with 247 starts, 41 wins, 33 seconds and 32 third place finishes and $195,744 in earnings. He will now retire as a companion horse.
Track Notes: Robert Shepherd, Stephane Brosseau and Pascal Berube all scored driving doubles. David Pilon and Andre Champagne each had training doubles Sunday. Next Sunday, November 12 will be the final live race day for the 2023 Hippodrome 3R season. Along with honoring the leading driver and trainer for the race meet, there will be free race programs, food discounts and prize drawings throughout the afternoon. Post time is 12:00 noon.
