$60,000 Invitational head H3R Sunday card
At 2h22, on October 1, 2023 • By Steven Wolf
The Quebec Jockey Club hosts their first Builders Day at the Hippodrome 3R on Sunday (Oct. 1) featuring two $60,000 Invitational pacing events honoring the memory of the recently departed horseman Brian Paquet.
A special Builder’s Day ceremony will be held on the racetrack at 11:30 am featuring recognition of seven people who have helped advance and promote Standardbred racing not only in Quebec, but throughout Canada and the USA.
Those being honored include Brian Paquet, Lucien Bombardier, Benoit Cote, Gilles Lachance, Gaetan Lamy, Pierre Levesque and Alain Veilleux.
On the racetrack the 10th race $60,000 Invitational Pace for the horses is headlined by track record holder Cadillac Bayama (Sunshine Beach) starting from post three for driver Louis-Philippe Roy.
Cadillac Bayama, now age 5, is the fastest three-year-old pacer ever at H3R and is a Quebec Champion. His 1:52.3 record was set in 2021. He now sports $314,817 in career earnings and is trained by Jacques Dupont for the CSL Stable of Sorel-Tracy and has a lifetime mark of 1:48.4 taken this year at Mohawk Park.
While winless in his last eight starts, Cadillac Bayama was second in a dead heat two starts back in Ontario, timed in 1:51.3.
The Light Speed (Moon Beam) goes from post 4 for trainer-driver Guy Gagnon. He sports an impressive 13 wins this year and back in September won an Invitational at H3R in 1:54.3. In 21 starts this season he has yet to finish worse than third. In his last start at Rideau Carleton, was second by a neck in 1:52.2.
Other contenders include Aladdin (post 5), and Ontario invaders Persistant Boy (post 6) and Partyintheshadows (post 7).
The fillies and mares battle in their $60,000 Invitational Pace in the 8th race where H3R’s newest track record holder, YS Sensationalcity (Keystone Velocity) starts from the rail for driver William Roy.
It was just last week that YS Sensationalcity rewrote the 27-year-old track mark for three-year-old pacing fillies with a 1:55 lifetime mark. Owned and trained by Michel Allard, it was the second straight win for YS Sensationalcity, who is one of four three-year-old fillies in the race.
Ladycorona (Bettors Delight) swept the Quebec Championship Series this year for three-year-old fillies and goes from post three for driver Pascal Berube. She was third last week to YS Sensationalcity and has eight wins this year.
Another Quebec Champion is Celia Bayama (Bettors Delight) from post six for driver Stephane Brosseau. She was a game second last week against YS Sensationalcity.
Other newcomers to H3R for the big race are In The Mood (post 4) and Ladysmith (post 7).
There are also two $17,500 divisions of the Lucien Bombardier Pace for two-year-old fillies. The 5th race first division features Sweet Molly (post 2) against My Last Kiss (post 4) and D Gs Lorijeanne (post 5). The second division is the 7th race headlined by Bybitcoin (post 4) against newcomer Wickham (post 5) and Ronda Du Lac (post 3).
First race post time on Sunday is 12:00 noon.
