1/9 favorite taken down in stakes race

Trois-Rivieres, QC – The winningest harness racing horse at the Hippodrome 3R this season is Stella Alpha and she went off at the overwhelming 1/9 race favorite but was taken down for interference in the stretch against second place finisher HP Felicity (Muscle Mass).

This all took place in the 8th race co-feature Friday afternoon (July 29). It was the $10,000 filly division second leg of the Breeders Trophy Series for three-year-old trotters.

Stella Alpha has been penned the “Princess of Trot” at H3R this season. Trained by Sylvain Tremblay and driven by Pascal Berube, she sports 7 wins this season in 13 starts, 6 of those wins right at H3R and she owns the track record with a 1:58 mark.

The race began with Stella Alpha leaving from the rail to take command of the race for Berube. Getting the pocket-trip in second was Cleveland Moneyka (Stephane Brosseau). Stella Alpha cut fractions of :39.3 and 1:00.4 before anyone took a shot at her.

And that was HP Felicity and driver Robert Shepherd. They came first-over in the backstretch and kept gaining ground past the three-quarters in 1:31. On that final turn you could see Berube having some difficulty keeping Stella Alpha together.

As they turned for home, they were neck and neck when the wheels of the two horses banged off each other. Stella Alpha continued straight but HP Felicity bore out and lost ground, finishing second by two lengths. The time of the race was 2:00 and Cleveland Monkeyka was third.

After the finish, Shepherd went to the judges and filed a claim of foul and after viewing all the different angles, which the fans could also watch, the judges deemed that Stella Alpha did leave the path she was following down the stretch and interfered with HP Felicity.

HP FELICITY REPLAY

It was the second win this year for HP Felicity. She is trained by Isabelle Darveau and was bred and is owned by Claude Hamel and Michel Damphousse. She paid $15.90 to win.

In the 4th race $10,000 Breeders Trophy Series for the colt and gelding trotters, it was Royalty Beer (Royalty For Life), the 2021 Quebec Champion two-year-old who returned to winning form for driver Kevin Maguire, leading from start to finish.

With Sammy Justice (Pascal Berube) sitting the two-hole trip, Royalty Beer cut fractions of :30.3 and 1:01.1 before Kenogami Rebel (Stephane Brosseau) came first-over with Cleveland Massimo (Robert Shepherd) second-over until Kenogami Rebel dropped into the two-hole spot, leaving Cleveland Massimo first-over after the three quarters in 1:30.4.

Then down the stretch Royalty Beer was home free, winning by one and one-half lengths in 2:00.4 over Kenogami Rebel with Cleveland Massimo, who raced as part of an entry with Royalty Beer, was third.

It was the second win of the season for Royalty Beer, who is trained and co-owned by Jean-Francois Maguire with the Maquire Stable of Sainte-Marie. He paid $2.80 to win.

ROYALTY BEER REPLAY

Kiss Me Bad (Badlands Hanover) and owner-trainer-driver Steven Gagnon flew three-wide in the backstretch, clearing to the lead at the top of the stretch and then posting a four length romp in winning the 9th race $7,000 Mares Preferred Pace. It was her first win in five starts this year. The time of the mile was 1:55.3, a lifetime mark. She paid $13.80 to win.

Track Notes: Both Steven Gagnon and Pascal Berube scored driving doubles. Live racing returns Sunday afternoon at H3R with the second leg of the Breeders Trophy Series for three-year-old pacers. Featured will be the undefeated filly Majo Sport Fella (race 4) and for the colts, Chikaboom (race 7), who in the opening round of the series scored in 1:54.3. First race post time Sunday is 12:00 noon. For a free race program, click here.

For complete race results, click here.

by Steve Wolf, for Harnesslink