Kingston Panic Romps to Easy Victory

Six-year-old pacer Kingston Panic overcame post seven on Sunday (May 17) at the Hippodrome Trois-Rivières and cruised to a 14 3/4-length victory in 1:56.2 over Saskabush Steve and On Cruise Control.

Driven by Simon Delisle for trainer Alexana Laroche, Kingston Panic was raced patiently, sitting well back for much of the mile. Early on, On Cruise Control dictated the pace through an opening quarter in :28 and turned back a challenge from Lets Get Pickled en route to the half in :57.4. Heading into the far turn, Kingston Panic hit full stride and, following a 1:27.1 three-quarter split, the son of Sportswriter paced away from his rivals to record his second win of the season.

Owned by Jean Laroche, Kingston Panic returned $5.90 to win.

As expected, bettors faced a difficult Sunday card, with several favourites coming up short. That was certainly the case in the ninth race of the afternoon, when heavily favoured Light The Torch, sent off at 2-5, was upset by JK Party, who produced the biggest upset of the day in 1:58 for driver Sylvain Fontaine. Leaving from post six, JK Party went straight to the lead and never looked back, rewarding his backers with a hefty $64.90 win payoff.

Meanwhile, driver Francis Picard recorded a driving hat trick behind Lady Sarah Bg ($5.60), MVPS Daughter ($31.90), and Night Off ($8.60), while also adding a pair of runner-up finishes.

Racing resumes next Sunday with first post at noon.