Upset winner in H3R Breeders Trophy Series
At 0h14, on August 19, 2023 • By Steven Wolf
It was only the second time that harness racing driver Guy Gagnon sat behind Tite Beer En Mass (Muscle Mass), but horse and driver seems to get along very well as the 8-1 longshot led from start to finish in the Breeders Trophy Series Friday (Aug. 18) at the Hippodrome 3R.
This is the final preliminary round of the series. Now the top eight point earners will return on Sunday, Sept. 10 for their respective $65,000 finals and Tite Beer En Mass will be a finalist.
The 5th race $10,000 division for three-year-old trotting fillies saw Tite Beer En Mass and Gagnon leave from post two and take the early lead with Kenogami Courage (Stephane Brosseau) sitting in second place as they passed the first quarter in :28.4.
Gagnon was then able to back down the pace going to the half mile in just 1:00 and that flushed race favorite, Dont Treat Me Bad and driver Jocelyn Gendron first-over to challenge. But as they raced down the backstretch, Don’t Treat Me Bad had trouble keeping up on the outside against Kenogami Courage while Tite Beer En Mass held the field at bay with a two-length lead going by the three-quarters in 1:30.2.
As they started down the stretch, Tite Beer En Mass held that two length advantage right to the wire in 2:00.3 with Don’t Treat Me Bad second and Kenogami Courage third.
It was a lifetime mark for Tite Beer En Mass, who is now trained by Guy Gagnon for the Maguire Stable that bred and co-owns the filly with Jane Francois Maguire and Julie Malenfant. She paid $19.30 to win. It was her first win in eight starts this season.
Unlike Tite Beer En Mass who won for the first time this season, the 9th race $10,000 Breeders Trophy Series leg for the three-year-old colt and gelding trotters saw the overwhelming race favorite, Kinnder Motown (Muscle Mass) make it a clean sweep of the preliminary rounds.
Illusioniste Gale (Jerome Lombart) was first on the lead with Auguste (Stephane Brosseau) sitting the pocket trip to the first quarter in :28.1.
Then it was the 1/5 race favorite Kinnder Motown and driver Robert Shepherd coming first-over right at the half mile in :59. They were able to advance and collar race leader Illusioniste Gale in the back and take over the lead right before the three-quarters in 1:28.2 and started to pull away from the field.
Down the stretch no one was going to catch Kinnder Motown as he went on to win by five and one-half lengths in 1:58.4. Timonier (Pascal Berube) was second with Auguste third.
It was the sixth win in just nine starts this year for Kinnder Motown, who is trained by Shepherd’s wife, Isabelle Darveau, for owner Rejean Lemieux of Quebec, paying $2.50 to win.
“He trots nice and he’s smart,” said Shepherd about Kinnder Motown. “He can leave, you can take him back. He does whatever you ask of him. He has a beautiful gait and he’s big. He can race from anywhere, he’s pretty smart that way.”
Track Notes: Robert Shepherd had the hot hands Friday scoring a driving triple while Guy Gagnon had both a driving and training double. Live racing resumes at H3R on Sunday (Aug. 20) with the third and final preliminary round of the Breeders Trophy Series for three-year-old pacing colts and fillies. There are four $7,500 divisions, two for the colts and one for the fillies. Post time on Sunday is 12:00 noon.
