Quebec Regional Circuit in action at 3R Saturday

The second of two appearances of the Quebec Regional Circuit, an entity which conducts races at the training centers throughout Quebec but whose presence has been necessarily shuttered by COVID, took place at Hippodrome 3R today, to give the circuit’s horses and horsepeople a chance to compete. (There are tentative plans to stage a meeting at a “circuit track,” St-Joseph-de-Lepage, on July 17, if conditions allow.)

The traditional races for amateur drivers, female (conductrices) and male (conducteurs), were held. In the women’s race, there were four lead changes in a field of seven, with the most important one belonging to SOS Mach Xtreme and driver Roxanne Viau, who went to the lead late and then held off Aethon by a neck in 2:01.2 (some moisture early in the card caused a “+1” time variant) for trainer Michel Audet; driver and trainer share ownership of the winner. Though Viau is an “amateur,” she has been driving since 2017, and her record is sterling: 32-10-9-6, with a driver rating of .510.

Viau’s counterpart, Marc Lemay, sat patiently with Spider Man Hanover behind wicked fractions of :27.3 and :57.1 in the other amateur race, moved to the lead nearing the 1:28.1 three-quarters, and then held off the field in 1:59.4. Lemay, who trains the winner and owns him through his Gestion Marc Lemay Inc., posted his 11^th career sulky success, and his other sub-2:00 mile was quite a notable one – it came on the regional circuit, at Bedford, and with the trotter R Rkadabra, and in a dead-heat with Revonah Hanover, also in 1:59.4!

The two-year-old trotting filly Crazy Lilly, second in her debut, won Saturday in 2:10 for driver/trainer Sylvain Fontaine and owner Michel Fontaine. The only driver to score two wins on Saturday besides Fontaine shares his initials, Samuel Fillion, and the latter put a maiden mark of 2:03.3 mark on the freshman Sportswriter colt Persistant Boy, who came his own back fractions in :59.3 – :29 for trainer Alain Veilleux and owner Richard Desroisers. Both may be in preparation for the upcoming Quebec-bred series to begin next month.

The only horse winning during both weeks of 3R regional action was Havana Panic, who on Saturday overcame post eight to post the fastest time of the day, 1:59.1, for driver Stephane Brosseau, trainer Francis Richard, and owner Brian Paquet.

Racing is right back in action Sunday at Hippodrome 3R at 12:30, with  the feature the $5500 Preferred trot handicap, where Bucketlist Hanover may be aiming for the track trotting mark, as his 1:56.1 win here in his last start was only a fifth off the 3R all-time standard of Pablo Angus and Michelangelo.