Francis Picard Scores Second Straight Hat Trick

For the second consecutive week, driver Francis Picard shined Sunday at Hippodrome Trois-Rivières with three victories.

Just as he had done the previous Sunday, the Warwick native made his presence felt early on the card by guiding Babylou to his first victory since 2024. The son of Sunshine Beach wasted no time in his seasonal debut, taking command through a :28.1 opening quarter. After setting the pace with fractions of :57.2 and 1:27.2, Babylou crossed the wire in 1:59.1, shaving nearly two seconds off his lifetime mark.

Picard then added wins aboard Last Try (2:01.2) and the favorite Ambitious Mind (1:59.4). Several tense minutes passed before the hat trick was officially confirmed, as the judges reviewed the stretch drive to ensure no infraction had occurred. Just as in his two previous victories, Picard sent Ambitious Mind straight to the lead through fractions of :28.2, 1:00.1 and 1:30.3 before holding off a strong late challenge from Momentsthatmatter in the stretch. Ambitious Mind earned his first victory in six starts this season.

In one of the afternoon’s feature events, pacer Bets Beach responded brilliantly to the challenge of post 9, over Kingston Panic and The Twin Dragon in 1:57.1 for driver Pascal Bérubé. It marked a second straight victory for the trainee of Yves Tessier.

The next program at Hippodrome Trois-Rivières is scheduled for next Sunday, after which a second weekly card will be added for the summer season — Thursdays at 5:30 p.m., beginning June 4.