Thats Hooligan grinds out another score
At 11h34, on May 27, 2024 • By STEVE WOLF
For the second straight week, Thats Hooligan (Rose Run Hooligan) showed that he can grind it out against the best at the Hippodrome 3R in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, winning the first Preferred Trot of the season on Sunday, May 26.
The 10th race feature saw 30-1 Vitor (Steven Gagnon) go to the early lead from post four with My Mini Miracle (Jocelyn Gendron) getting the two-hole trip to the first quarter in :30. Meanwhile the race favorites Kenogami Coco (Stephane Brosseau) and Only For Justice (Francis Picard) got away in last place.
Heading to the half mile, Marie-Claude Auger started up first-over with Thats Hooligan with Orlys Pride (Denis St Pierre) second-over. Vitor was in command at the half mile in 1:00.
Thats Hooligan gained on Vitor in the backstretch and those two started to leave a gap on the field as the two hit the three-quarters in 1:30. Then around the final turn the two warriors battled until the top of the stretch when Thats Hooligan muscled his way to the front and went on to win by one and one-half lengths in 2:00.2. Vitor was second with Orlys Pride third.
Undefeated in two starts this year, Thats Hooligan is trained and owned by Peter Lepage of St-Liguori, Que. and paid $7.00 to win.
The pacing mares were in the limelight in the 4th race where race fans made Kiss Me Bad (Badlands Hanover), the overwhelming 1-2 favorite. She did not disappoint.
NY Hardcore (Robert Shepherd) was first out of the gate and took the lead with Shanghaibluebeach (Pascal Berube) grabbing the two-hole spot to the opening quarter mile in :27.4.
After the quarter, from the back of the pack, Better Kissthe Men (Simon Delisle) started up first-over, giving live cover to Kiss Me Bad and owner-driver Steven Gagnon. NY Hardcore led to the half mile in :58.4.
Then in the backstretch, with an amazing brush of speed, Gagnon took Kiss Me Bad three-wide and looped the field by the three-quarters in 1:28.4. She then pulled away from the field to win by three and one-half lengths in 1:56.1. NY Hardcore was second with Better Kissthe Men third.
It was the first win in three starts for Kiss Me Bad. Her first two starts were against male rivals in the Preferred Pace. She is trained by Daniel Mondou and owned by Steven Gagnon of Sorel-Tracy. She paid $3.10 to win.
Track Notes: In a rare occurrence, the daily double at H3R Sunday came in 8-8. Astute wagering fans were not scared of the two winners starting from post 8 as the $2 Daily Double paid $27.00. Both races had 9 horses and both winners Yves St Jacques has a training double. Live harness racing resumes at H3R next Sunday, June 2 with first race post time at 12:00 noon. Featured will be the 2024 Quebec / Eastern Ontario Regional Driving Championship.
