Showing true grit from start to finish, Aladdin (Shadow Play) and driver Stephane Brosseau scored an impressive front-end triumph in capturing the Sunday (Oct. 27) feature pace at the Hippodrome 3R (H3R).
The 10th race $10,000 feature for Quebec-owned pacers saw Aladdin and Brosseau scoot to the early lead and then parked out I Ama Rocket (Marie-Claude Auger) until the first quarter in :28.2.
Brosseau then moved Aladdin back out and they took the lead back from I Ama Rocket before reaching the half mile marker in :57.3. Then coming first-over was the race favorite, Light The Torch (Pascal Berube) and they came abreast with Aladdin at the three-quarters in 1:26.4.
The two horses battled neck and neck around the final turn and then in a stretch battle to the wire, Aladdin held off Light The Torch to win by a half a length in 1:55.4. I Ama Rocket was third.
A five-year-old gelding, Aladdin is trained by Maxime Velaye for owner-breeder Guy Corbeil of Mirabel, Que. It was his fourth win this year and he paid $10.70 to win.
Track Notes: Four drivers on Sunday, Pascal Berube, Antoine Desrochers, Jocelyn Gendron and Stephane Brosseau all scored driving doubles and Guillaume Desrochers had a training double. Next Sunday, November 3, the curtain falls on the 2024 race meeting at H3R with its closing day card. Honored will be Pascal Berube, who will win his fifth straight driverās title at H3R, leading with 72 wins over Marie-Claude Auger with 52 wins while Marc-Andre Simoneau is headed towards his first trainerās title, leading rival David Pilon, 28 to 23. Post time next Sunday at 12:00 noon. For more information and a free race program, visit here.
For complete race results, click here.
by Steve Wolf, for the Quebec Jockey Club