Boomboom Tonight crushes field at Hippodrome 3R

Boomboom Tonight (Sportswriter) notched his third straight harness racing win by crushing his opponents in the second round of the Breeders Trophy Series at the Hippodrome 3R Sunday afternoon (July 28) in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec.

There were four $7,500 divisions of the series, two for the colts and two for the fillies Sunday.

Boomboom Tonight opened up as the overwhelming 1/9 favorite in the 8^th race second division of the series. Starting from post five for driver Pascal Berube, they worked their way to the lead over Ambitious Mind (Francis Picard) by the first quarter in a pedestrian :29.

As the race continued, so did the lead for Boomboom Tonight. He went to the half in :58.4, the three-quarters in 1:27.2 and poured it on in the stretch, winning by ten lengths in 1:56.2. G S Speed Gabby (Robert Shepherd) was second with Ambitious Mind third.

Bred, owned and trained by Elisabeth Pothier of St-Christophe-D’Arthabask, Boomboom Tonight is the only double winner in the series. He paid just $2.10 across the board.

BOOMBOOM TONIGHT REPLAY

The first division 7^th race for the colts saw Kinnder Reptile (Sportswriter) and driver Marie-Claude Auger pull off a three-wide move in the backstretch and then still be able to mow down race favorite Gladiator S BG (Pascal Berube) in the stretch.

Haka Timatanga (Jocelyn Gendron) cut the mile with Gladiator S BG setting into the two-hole by the quarter in :28. Then coming to the half mile in :59.1, Kinnder Reptile was already first-over and that flushed Gladiator S BG out of the two-hole and first-over, giving Kinnder Reptile live cover.

Then in the backstretch, Auger had Kinnder Reptile on the move and then swept three-wide, which urged Gladiator S BG first-over by three-quarters in 1:28.2. Gladiator S BG was able to clear by Haka Timatanga as Kinnder Reptile backed off a step on the final turn.

As they started down the stretch, Auger urged Kinnder Reptile on and they collared Gladiator S BG and came on to win by a half a length in 1:57.2. Olaf Du Lac (Pierre-Luc Roy) was third.

It was the fourth win in just six starts this season for Kinnder Reptile, who was bred and is owned and trained by Denitza Petrova of Melbourne, Que. He paid $6.60 to win.

KINNDER REPTILE REPLAY

The first of the two $7,500 divisions of the Breeders Trophy Series for the fillies was the 3^rd race where Ronda Du Lac (Shadow Play) with driver Pierre-Luc Roy, sat a perfect pocket trip behind 1/9 race favorite, The Heart Valley (Marie-Claude Auger).

The Heart Valley cut fractions of :28.1, :57.4 and 1:28. Roy waited until the top of the stretch and sent Ronda Du Lac after the race leader, wearing them down at the wire to win by three-quarters of a length in 1:58.2. Breedingbankrupsy (Pascal Berube) was third.

It was the second win of the season for Ronda Du Lac, who is trained by David Pilon for breeder and co-owner Louis Philippe Roy with Maude Larouche, Michel Letarte and Jean Allaire. She paid $8.80 to win.

RONDA DU LAC REPLAY

Then in the 5^th race second division, Wicked Discovery (Mcwicked) and driver Pascal Berube worked their way to the lead over Ma Diva (Sylvain Lacaille) by the opening quarter in :27.1 and never had to look back again.

Leading to the half mile in :58 and the three quarters in 1:28.1, Wicked Discovery turned it on in the stretch to win by five open lengths in 1:58.1. A game first-over D Gs Lorijeanne (Jonathan Lachance) was second with Shes Rock (Robert Shepherd) third.

It was a lifetime mark for Wicked Discovery who is trained by Louis Philippe Turcotte) for owners Jean Roch Marois and Gerard Demers. She paid $2.80 to win.

WICKED DISCOVERY REPLAY

Track Notes: Pascal Berube once again had the hot hands with a driving triple Sunday. Marie-Claude Auger had a driving double and Louis Philippe Turcotte had a training double. YS Sensational City won the 1 1/4 mile race in 2:28 at St-Joseph-de-Lepage Saturday on the Quebec Regional Fair Circuit. That was the first time the distance was raced there, so it is a track record. According to Standardbred Canada, the record for 1 1/4 miles on a half mile track for all of Canada was 2:29 set by Nova Scotia Strong, Truro Raceway in 2023. SC classifies the Quebec fair tracks separately if you look at their records. YS Sensational City was driven by 49-year-old Mario Lafortune, who now has set a Canadian record — in his second lifetime drive. Live racing resumes at H3R next Friday, August 4 and will feature the second round of the Future Stars Series for two-year-old trotting colts and fillies. For more information and free race programs, visit here.

For complete race results, click here.

by Steve Wolf, for the Quebec Jockey Club