Pierre-Luc Roy scores Grand Slam at H3R

He may not be known by many fans outside of the province of Quebec, but harness racing driver Pierre-Luc Roy put on a show at the Hippodrome 3R Sunday, August 10, winning four races on the program.

Roy is the older brother of three-time O’Brien Award winner, Louis-Philippe Roy, and has been a top driver in Quebec for many years.

On Sunday, Roy won one division of the Future Stars Series and also won the Preferred Pace and the Three-Year-Old Filly Pace.

The photo finish camera was put to good use on Sunday as the $10,000 colt division of the Future Stars Series ended in a three-horse photo.

The 2^nd race co-feature saw 19-1 Gold Nugget (Jocelyn Gendron) work his way to the lead over Love That Miramont (Sportswriter) and driver Jean Bernard Renaud by the opening quarter mile in :30.

Then coming to the half mile marker, 11-1 Boomboom Tonight (Marc Belanger) was flushed first-over by race favorite Amitious Mind (Francis Picard) as they went by the half in 1:01.4.

Gold Nugget seemed comfortable on the lead going down the backstretch as Olaf Du Lac (Pierre-Luc Roy) moved three-wide from sixth place at the three-quarters in 1:31.

Around the final turn it was four horses in contention as Gold Nugget continued to lead the field down the stretch but bore out off the pylons and left just enough room for Love That Miramont to come up the inside while Boomboom Tonight kept up his attack.

As they crossed the wire it was a three-horse photo with Love That Miramont winning by a long nose over Gold Nugget with Boomboom Tonight finishing third by a head. The time of the mile was 2:01.

LOVE THAT MIRAMONT REPLAY

It was the first pari-mutuel start for Love That Miramont. The gelding is trained by Julie Walker and was bred and is owned by Michele Raymond of Chelsea, Quebec and paid $7.50 to win.

There were also two $7,500 divisions of the Future Stars Series for two-year-old pacing fillies.

The 4^th race was the first division that saw the Ontario invader, Ma Diva and driver Sylvain Lacaille go right to the lead from post five with the race favorite Ronda Du Lac (Shadow Play) and driver Pierre-Luc Roy getting the two-hole trip to the first quarter in :29.3.

Lacaille then backed down the pace to the half mile in 1:02.2 that saw YS La Belle Vie (Pascal Berube) rush up first-over with Shes Rock (Robert Shepherd) second-over.

YS La Belle Vie then dropped into the two-hole behind Ma Diva as Roy quickly moved Ronda Du Lac first-over by the three-quarters in 1:32.1.

Around the final turn it was Ronda Du Lac on the outside against Ma Diva and as they started down the stretch, Ronda Du Lac kept bearing out but was moving forward just enough to beat Ma Diva to the wire by a neck in 2:02.2. Shes Rock was third.

RONDA DU LAC REPLAY

Now undefeated in two starts, Ronda Du Lac is trained by David Pilon for breeder Louis-Philippe Roy, who co-owns the filly with Maude Larouche and Jean Allaire. She paid $3.30 to win.

In the 9th race second division for the fillies, it was Breedingbankrupsy (Sportswriter) and driver Pascal Berube who led the field from the start through early fractions of :31 and 101.4 before D Gs Lorijeanne and driver Jonathan Lachance came first-over and gained ground slowly as they passed the three-quarters in 1:32.

Around the final turn the two horses were racing head-to-head and continued to do so down the stretch with Breedingbankrupsy able to hold off D Gs Lorijeanne to win by a head in 2:02. YS Flowernumberten (Francis Picard) was third.

BREEDINGBANKRUPSY REPLAY

It was a lifetime mark for Breedingbankrupsy and her second win in three lifetime starts for trainer Marc-Andre Simoneau who bred the filly and owns her with the Desjardins Noreau Stable and Jean Fontaine. She paid $2.50 to win as the wagering favorite.

Sports Bettor (Sportswriter) returned from the Quebec Fair Circuit where he had won three straight races and took on the best at H3R in the 6^th race $7,000 Preferred Pace and beat them.

Driven by Pierre-Luc Roy, Sports Bettor wired the field despite constant challenges throughout the race, winning by two lengths in 1:56.1. He paid $10.40 to win for trainer Kevin Maquire and the Maquire Stable of Sainte-Marie.

Track Notes: Pierre-Luc Roy led all drivers with his four wins. Pascal Berube had a driving double and David Pilon had a training double. Live racing resumes at H3R next Friday, August 18 at 4:00 pm. Featured will be the third and final leg of the Breeders Trophy Series for three-year-old trotting colts and fillies leading towards the $65,000 finals on Sunday, September 10. For more information, visit www.hippodrome3r.ca.

For complete race results, click here: Canadian Trotting Results

by Steve Wolf, for the Quebec Jockey Club