Keepall seeks repeat score in Preferred Trot

Trois-Rivieres, QC – The Hippodrome 3R hosts a Preferred Trot on Friday and every horse in the harness racing field has a shot at winning the race.

All eyes will be on Keepall, last week’s return winner from the Preferred Trot. He will start from post four in the seventh race feature for driver Pascal Berube, who drove him for the first-time last week.

A six-year-old gelding by Angus Hall, Keepall led from start to finish last week at H3R, barely holding off the late charge of the lone mare in the field, Precieuse CC, to win by a nose in a lifetime best 1:58.

“He is a very fast horse,” said Pascal Berube. “He’s also competitive as he doesn’t seem to want to be passed when he’s leading the pack.”

A five-time winner this year, Keepall is trained by Sylvain Tremblay of Metabetchouan. Tremblay’s Alpha Stable co-owns Keepall with Gino Curadeau of Fermon.

“Last week I drove him for the first time,” Berube said. “And I really believed in his chances of winning. This week he has similarly the same opposition but the race was tight last week that anyone can win this event.

“Last week was very close,” Berube added. “I knew I had won and Precieuse CC was ahead of us on the other side of the finish line.”

Keepall came to the stable of Sylvain Tremblay right before the Covid-19 pandemic started.

“I bought the horse in February,” Tremblay explained. “I brought him to the stable in March and started training him. By the time I started racing him in June he was in great shape.

“He is a horse that loves to train,” Tremplay said. “With us he works every day. He found it difficult at first, but quickly got used to it. No problem in sight now.”

As for last week’s nose victory, Tremplay says the race was too close.

“It was very difficult to say whether he won or not last week, it was so close at the finish,” Tremblay added. “I did love the way he fought until the end. He is an incredible starter. He is playful and always in a good mood.”

Keepall will need to be in a good mood again on Friday as he goes against rival Precieuse CC, who starts from post two for owner, trainer and driver Claude Beausoleil.

A five-year-old mare by Angus Hall, Precieuse is a former Quebec-bred champion. This year she has three wins and a tough second place finish to Keepall.

Bucketlist Hanover (post 3) is the fastest in the field with an impressive lifetime mark of 1:53.3 taken this year. He has four wins for trainer Gilles Boucher and will be driven by Jocelyn Gendron. Last week he was parked out first-over against Keepall and finished fourth by only three-quarters of a length after the tough journey.

Capteur De Reve (post 5) was also in that tight photo finish last week, finishing third by just a head to Keepall. He is a four-time Quebec-bred champion for trainer Maxime Velaye and will be driven by Stephane Gendron.

Rounding out the field is newcomer Severus Hanover (post 1), who has been racing around the Ontario circuit for trainer-owner Yannick Martel. He won two starts back in 1:57.2 at Kawartha Downs and will be driven on Friday by Stephane Brosseau. Severus Hanover sports five wins this year.

Track Notes: First race post time is 4:00 pm. Coming up on Sunday at H3R is the annual Lucien Bombardier Pace for two-year-old fillies that will race for a purse of $33,800. For a free race program, visit www.hippodrome3R.ca.

From the Quebec Jockey Club