Everybody aboard the Boomboom Tonight bus

Come Sunday morning (Sept. 8), anywhere from about 40 to 50 people will leave the town of St-Christophe-D’Arthabask in Quebec aboard the Boomboom Tonight Fan Bus that will take them to Trois-Rivieres to the Hippodrome 3R (H3R) harness racing track.

It’s Super Sunday on September 8 with more than $500,000 in purses for the richest day of horse racing in all of Quebec, the Championship Finals for Quebec-bred two and three-year-old trotters and pacers.

And everyone aboard the bus will be rooting for Boomboom Tonight, who headlines the 10th race $65,000 final for three-year-old pacing colts. And Boomboom Tonight is the race favorite.

The three-year-old gelding by Sportswriter has been unbeaten at the Hippodrome 3R this season with four wins at the track. He is starting from post two for H3R’s leading driver the past four years, Pascal Berube. He is the only horse racing Sunday in the finals that has a chance to sweep the series, having won all three of his preliminary rounds.

Boomboom Tonight was bred, owned and trained by Elisabeth Pothier of St-Christophe-D’Arthabask. It was Pothier who first came up with the bus trip last year when Boomboom Tonight was in the finals and he won.

“The school bus is provided free of charge by Autobus Arthabaska Inc.,” Pothier explained. “This company belongs to my father, Richard Pothier. The one-hour ride is free for all interested people. We decorate the bus, provide drinks, snacks, print some programs and this year we will even give away some sweaters.

“It will be the Boomboom Party on the bus,” Pothier said. “Last year there were about 30 passengers and everyone had a great time, so this year I tried to do a little more advertising, a second bus is planned as a backup if too many people show up to board. We hope we will use another bus. I love to expose new people to harness racing.”

And where did the provocative name Boomboom Tonight come from?

“We named him Boomboom Tonight,” explained Pothier, “In homage to his grandmother, Excite the Nite and his mother Rapid Tonight. I thought the track announcer (Guy Lafontaine) would enjoy calling his name in the race.

“In fact, Pothier added. “His name leaves a mark on people; even young children enjoy saying it.”

Last year Boomboom Tonight raced just seven times, winning five of them including the $55,000 Championship Final. But this year he was winless in his first five starts in Ontario.

“Marc Belanger helped us last winter to train Boomboom,” Pothier said. “The horse showed good potential. We wanted to offer the best to our horse. Our friend Chantal Mitchell finished his preparation in the beautiful facilities of Classy Lane Stables in Puslinch, Ontario. However, the start of the season was difficult. I simply think that people there did not know him as well as we did.

“When we brought him home, my partner Denis Blouin put him back to how he was before. He changed the shoeing, adjusted the equipment and the veterinarian took care of him.”

Boomboom Tonight really woke up upon his return to H3R, ripping off three straight wins, including a lifetime mark of 1:55.

“In races, Boomboom is a lazy horse,” Pothier added. “He needs someone to keep him busy, Pascal Berubé does very well with him.

“Boomboom is a horse that doesn’t need to work or train hard,” Pothier said. “We try to keep him happy by taking him to the paddock and eating lots of carrots. We were very happy to bring him back to Trois-Rivieres, we missed him. I admit that it’s still stressful to have a horse that has the potential to win the Breeders’ Trophy Final.

“Boomboom is in a good position for the final,” Pothier added. “We are confident that he can perform well. So, in order to make new people love harness racing, we are organizing the free bus trip again for people to come out and encourage him on the “Boomboom Bus!”

While Boomboom Tonight has beaten all seven of his rivals in his 10th race feature Sunday, it may not be a walk in the park for him. Four of the horses in the race are all coming off wins in their last start and will be after Boomboom Tonight. They include Kinnder Kenogami (post 1), G A Speed Expert (post 6), Kinnder Reptile (post 4) and Ambitious Mind (post 7).

Pothier, of course, is hoping for a repeat win in the Championship Final and another great bus trip for all of Boomboom Tonight’s fans.

It’s all aboard the Boomboom Bus on Sunday morning. The bus leaves at 10:40 am for the one-hour trip to Trois-Rivieres. For more information about the free bus trip, call 819-352-2937.

Live racing takes place at H3R on Friday’s at 4:00 pm and Sunday’s at 12:00 noon.