Brosseau takes Quebec/Eastern Ontario Driving Championship

Stephane Brosseau finished the eight-race competition with 67 points atop the standings with Robert Shepherd coming in second, finishing just two points behind, and also advancing to the NDC on July 5.

The top two finishers in the final regional event complete the field of drivers for the NDC. They will join defending champion Doug McNair, Atlantic Regional Driving Championship leaders Redmond Doucet and David Dowling, Ontario Regional Driving Championship qualifiers Tyler Borth and James MacDonald, and Western Regional Driving Championship representatives Phil Giesbrecht and Mike Hennessy. The NDC winner will represent Canada at the 2025 World Driving Championship in New Zealand.

​Brosseau, 54, was a previous NDC runner-up in 2018 at Grand River Raceway and the L’Assomption, Que. horseman will be looking to improve on that result on his home turf.

“I’m very excited to drive against all these good drivers,” said Brosseau, who has driven winners of 3,816 races in his career. “And you know, like you said, I’ve been there before and it’s a very nice thing to live.

“I’m happy to represent Three Rivers and being at the place I’ve been for, I don’t know, 25 years, 30 years. At my age, I know there’s not many coming up after, so I’m trying to enjoy it inch by inch.” 

Despite having some concerns with the post draw for his drafted line up, Brosseau showcased his driving talent, his horses showed up and he had a little luck on his side.

“It’s always the horses at the end there that decide if it’s going good or not,” said a humble Brosseau, whose QEORDC highlights included a pair of winners and two second-place finishes. “You can drive good, but it doesn’t mean the horse is going to respond like you think.”

The competition was fierce, but Brosseau was in the hunt for the title right from start, missing by just a neck in the opening leg with 26-1 shot Betonawheeln. He moved within one point of leader Guy Gagnon by the competition’s midway mark, winning the fourth leg with the Nicole Gagne-trained pacing mare Better Kissthe Men ($4.10) in 1:57.2.

Brosseau solidified his lead during the back half of the QEORDC, gaining enough points to tie Gagnon then top the leaderboard the rest of the way, with his second winner in leg six giving him a boost to hold off the competition. Brosseau was the first driver to repeat in the tournament with favourite Gladiator S BG ($2.30) overcoming an outside post after being parked through the first half-mile and holding off all challengers for the 1:57.3 neck victory, keeping the Jacques Dupont-trained colt’s sophomore record perfect in three starts.

A judges placing in the final leg provided the luck portion of the winning equation for Brosseau when Gagnon’s first-place finisher Greystone Watchman was placed back to third in the race for causing interference, ultimately taking him out of the running for a spot in the NDC. Brosseau and Ladycorona were bumped from third to second in the race with Robert Shepherd inheriting his first win of the competition in rein to the Michel Allard-trained mare YS Sensationalcity ($6). The win for Shepherd secured him the QEORDC runner-up honours after he had hit the board five times leading up to the final leg.

With their top performances in the final leg, point leader Brosseau clinched the Quebec/Eastern Ontario Regional Driving Championship title and Shepherd climbed to second.

Here is a look at the final leaderboard:

1. Stephane Brosseau – 67 points

2. Robert Shepherd – 65

3. Samuel Fillion – 55

4. Guy Gagnon – 54

5. Pascal Berube – 52

6. Nick Boyd – 50

7. Jimmy Gagnon – 17

8. Stephane Pouliot – 16

To view Sunday’s complete harness racing entries, click the following link: Sunday Entries – Hippodrome 3R.

From Standardbred Canada