Great match-ups in H3R Sunday feature

Last week at the Hippodrome 3R (H3R) it was the trotters on display and this Sunday, October 27, the pacers will be in the harness racing limelight with a $10,000 feature for Quebec-owned older pacers.

The 10th race feature is headlined by Light The Torch (Always B Miki) from post six for driver Pascal Berube. It was two starts back when the four-year-old gelding, despite being parked out first-over, held to be second in the $60,000 Brian Paquet Memorial, race timed in 1:52.4 at H3R.

Always a fan favorite, Light The Torch is trained and co-owned by H3R’s current leading trainer, Marc-Andre Simoneau with Jean Fontaine. He has eight wins already this season.

I Ama Rocket (Custard The Dragon) makes his debut at H3R on Sunday from post five for driver Marie-Claude Auger. With career earnings of $406,000, I Ama Rocket won 15 times in 2023 mainly at Mohawk Park and has five wins so far this season.

Back on Sept. 15 at Rideau Carleton Raceway, I Ama Rocket faced Light The Torch and won the $10,000 event in 1:52.1. The Alberta-bred eight-year-old gelding is trained by Guy Gagnon for owner Louise Ricard and in 178 career starts, has only raced once on a half-mile track. It was in May of this year, at Flamboro Downs, a track very similar to H3R, and he won in 1.54.2.

Third choice in the race is recent pacing sensation Uncontrollable (Control The Moment). Recently acquired by trainer Johanne Dechamplain, who co-owns with Steve Perreault, Uncontrollable starts from post four and will be driven by Jonathan Lachance.

Uncontrollable has won two of his last three starts for his new connections, taking a lifetime mark at H3R with a 1:53.4 romp by more than eight lengths.

Other top contenders in the field include return winner Sports Edition (post 7), National Debt (post 2), the entry of Aladdin (post 3) and Frozen Hanover (post 8) and rounding out the field is Persistant Boy (post 1).

There are now just two days of live racing left at H3R for the 2024 race meet, this Sunday and then closing day on Sunday, November 3. For more information and free race programs, visit here.

by Steve Wolf, for the Quebec Jockey Club