Café Society best of the mares at Hippodrome 3R

Trois-Rivieres, QC – Café Society (Betterthancheddar) showed once again that she is the best of the harness racing pacing mares at the Hippodrome 3R, grinding out an impressive victory Sunday (Oct. 16) in one of the three co-feature races.

It was Fancy Girl and driver Francis Picard who took early control of the 4^th race with Whitemountaincammy (Stephane Brosseau) grabbing the two-hole spot as they went by the first quarter in :28.3.

Café Society and driver Pascal Berube were the first to come out after Fancy Girl with Y C Easy (Simon Delisle) second-over to the half mile in :58.2.

Fancy Girl was strong on the front-end as Café Society worked her way closer and closer on the outside passing the three quarters in 1:27.3. Y C Easy had started to back off and race favorite Arrhysthmogenic (Daniel St Pierre) was able to get off the rail and move into second-over position.

By the top of the stretch, it became a two-horse race with Fancy Girl and Picard trying to keep their lead but Café Society and Berube were the strongest, coming on to win by a half a length in 1:57.4. Fancy Girl was second with Whitemountaincammy third.

It was the second straight win and fourth victory on the year for Café Society. The six-year-old mare is trained by Sylvain Tremblay for owner Gaetan Fortin of Loretteville. She paid $7.80 to win.

CAFE SOCIETY REPLAY

In the 11^th race co-feature pace for the older horses, Spectrum Seelster (Mach Three) and driver Pascal Berube went off as the overwhelming 1/9 race favorite and they raced like it.

Taking the early lead off the gate, Spectrum Seelster gave way to Old Buck (Francis Picard) at the first quarter in :27.4 and then retook the lead right away.

As they came to the half mile in :58.2, Maracasso (Steven Gagnon) came first-over with Saskabush Steve (Jocelyn Gendron) getting the second-over trip.

Spectrum Seelster led the field to the three-quarters in 1:27.4 and still held the field at bay by two lengths and kept that margin down the stretch and to the wire in 1:58.1. Xternal (Steeve Genois) was second with Old Buck third.

Spectrum Seelster notched his seventh win of the season for trainer Charles Gaudreault. He co-owns the horse with Daniel Gaudreault and Maxim Gaudreault. The six-year-old gelding paid just $2.10 to win.

SPECTRUM SEELSTER REPLAY

Morally Flexible (Break The Bank K) and driver Stephane Brosseau wasted no time in grinding it out early and then leading the field from start to finish in the 4^th race feature trot.

Taking the lead away from Tuxedo (Kiwon Waldron) by the first quarter in :28.3, Brosseau backed it down with Morally Flexible to the half in :59.1. That drew Dart Guy (Robert Shepherd) first-over and Goaltender (Pascal Berube) second-over.

Morally Flexible held the field at bay through the three-quarters in 1:28.4 and then was able to out sprint Goaltender to the wire, winning by a half a length in 1:59. Royalty Beer (Jean-Francois Maguire) was third.

It was the second straight win and fourth of the year for Morally Flexible, who is owned and trained by Daniel Theroux of St-Thomas-De-Jolliette. The six-year-old gelding paid $4.40 to win as the wagering favorite.

MORALLY FLEXIBLE REPLAY

Track Notes: Both Francis Picard and Pascal Berube scored driving triples and Stephane Brosseau had a driving double Sunday. Live racing resumes next Sunday, October 23 with first race post time at 12:00 noon. For more information about the Hippodrome 3R, click here.

by Steve Wolf, for the Quebec Jockey Club