Kiss Me Bad, Queen of the Pacing Mares at H3R

With her third straight victory Sunday in the mares Preferred-Handicap Pace, Kiss Me Bad can now wear the crown of Queen of the Mares at the Hippodrome 3R.

The five-year-old mare by Badlands Hanover, owned, trained and driven to victory by Steven Gagnon, once again showed her great ability in racing on the outside in capturing the 8^th race feature.

Race favorite Sophies Cam (Stephane Brosseau) took control of the race right from the starting gate. With You Rock Girl (Stephane Gendron) grabbing the two-hole spot, Sophies Cam cut the mile to the first-quarter in :27.3. Meanwhile, Kiss Me Bad and Gagnon got away poorly from post seven and started up first-over.

Before the half mile in :57.3, Kiss Me Bad flushed Sieras Rose (Pascal Berube), but once they reached the backstretch, the cover was not sufficient enough for Steven Gagnon and he took Kiss Me Bad three-wide. They were able to clear first-over at the three-quarters in 1:27.3 and collared pacesetter Sophies Cam around the final turn.

As they started down the stretch, Kiss Me Bad still had some late kick, pulling away for a two and three-quarter length triumph over Sophies Cam with Y C Easy (Francis Picard) third. Time of the mile was 1:57.

It was the fourth triumph of the year for Kiss Me Bad and Gagnon, who hails from Sorel Tracy. She paid $7.20 to win.

KISS ME BAD REPLAY

In the 4^th race trot, it was billed as a big match-up between the two top three-year-old trotters, the filly, X O X O, and the colt, Hall Win, both prepping for Super Sunday next weekend.

But the match-up never materialized as Hall Win and driver Kevin Maguire shot right to the lead and cut the mile while X O X O (Jerome Lombart) was content to sit in third place.

Eau Naturelle and driver Stephane Brosseau came first-over after a :29 opening quarter and :59.3 half mile, continuing to gain on race leader Hall Win at the three-quarters in 1:29.2. Also joining the fray and tipping three-wide was Goaltender and driver Pascal Berube.

Those three were neck and neck starting down the stretch as Hall Win began to tire and Eau Naturelle showed true grit in holding off Goaltender to win by three-quarters of a length in 2:00.3. Goaltender nosed out Hall Win for second place.

An eight-year-old mare by Windsong Espoir, it was the fourth win this year for Eau Naturelle, who is owned and trained by Carl Duguay of Trois-Rivieres. She paid $19.00 to win. X O X O settled for fifth place.

EAU NATURELLE REPLAY

Entering Sunday’s program, both Pascal Berube and Stephane Brosseau were tied for the lead in the driver standings at H3R, 46 to 46. With Stephane Brosseau scoring a driving triple, he has taken command of the lead as Berube scored only one win, 49 to 47. Stephane Gendron also had a driving triple.

Next Sunday, September 12, is Super Sunday at H3R with the richest racing card of the year in Quebec. There will be more than $500,000 in purses headlined by the eight finals of the Breeders Trophy Series and the Future Stars Series.

The four three-year-old Breeders Trophy Series finals will race for a purse of $60,000 each while the four two-year-old Future Stars Series finals race for $50,000 each.

Track Notes: Next weeks Super Sunday card starts at 12:10 pm. A free program will be available at www.hippodrome3r.ca by Thursday.

By Steve Wolf, for the Quebec Jockey Club