Young driver/trainer seeks bigger challenges

Many people around the world follow the footsteps of their parents into their jobs, working as police officers, teachers, lawyers, construction workers and doctors.

For 26-year-old harness racing driver/trainer Jonathan Lapointe, Standardbred horses have always been his life and his passion.

“All my family was with the horses when I grew up,” Lapointe said. “I was born and raised around it. When I was young, it’s what I always wanted to do.”

Lapointe grew up in Lavaltrie, Quebec and learned about the sport of harness racing at an early age from his parents, Stephane Lapointe and Johanne St-Pierre.

One of his most memorable moments came on September 16, 2017 at Hanover Raceway when he achieved his first career win as a driver, a romp on Casimir Obama by 10 ¾ lengths at a time of 2:00 for the mile.

While a first career win is always monumental and inspirational, there was another reason Lapointe had to be extremely happy.

“My parents came down for the weekend,” Lapointe said. “They were there for that first win. It was extra special.”

Two months later, he continued his great driving at Flamboro Downs winning with a couple of longshots in Doyoubelievemenow and AllIwannadoisplay.

Since then, Lapointe has stayed busy in harness racing by continuing to learn his craft and focus more on the training aspect.

This season, he has had a very good year at the Hippodrome 3R in Quebec. In eight starts, he has four firsts and two seconds. Lapointe is satisfied by how this season has turned out so far and knows it is a complete team effort.

“We’ve had a good year, I’ve got no complaints about the staff and the drivers,” Lapointe said. “They all gave 100 percent and we came out pretty successful.”

As a driver, Lapointe said that his biggest influencer would be Luc Ouellette. Ouellette was nicknamed “Lightning Luke” and in 1995 and 1996 was Driver of the Year.

In training, Lapointe has been influenced most by his family, particularly his father.

“He always had a stable and brought me up in the business,” Lapointe said. “I always looked up to my dad.”

One of the biggest accomplishments to date for him this season was the training of Isla Seelster, as there were issues that Lapointe had to solve.

“She had problems and I couldn’t put my finger on it,” Lapointe said. “We changed the scenery, brought her to Quebec and it seemed to be nothing but successful. We’re very pleased with her.”

While Lapointe thought the mare would be successful, even he was taken aback by how well she did after solving those difficulties.

“I expected Isla Seelster to be a competitive mare at Three Rivers (Hippodrome) 3R, but never fully expected it would just take off like that,” Lapointe said. “I didn’t expect she would take on anybody and rock their world.”

Now Lapointe resides in Guelph, Ontario, but his aspirations and dreams have him going all over North America as both a trainer and a driver.

“Any big opportunities are welcome,” Lapointe said. “When you drive at places like The Meadowlands, Yonkers, and The Red Mile, you drive with what we call the best. It would be like playing in the NHL.”

Lapointe has competed across Ontario and Quebec exclusively, and did not hesitate when asked about his favorite track to compete at.

“I really enjoy driving at Mohawk (Woodbine Mohawk Park),” Lapointe said. “It gives you all kinds of opportunities. You can win a race just as much from behind as you can win on the front.

“On a half-mile track, you have to be near the front to win the race. At Mohawk, there’s always opportunities down the lane to do something.” Lapointe said.

If an opportunity presents itself in the United States, Lapointe said he would definitely take it, but his longer aspirations are being one of the top-notch drivers and trainers not just in Ontario, but all of Canada.

“It’s a no brainer, I’d love to be on the WEG circuit (Woodbine Entertainment Group),” Lapointe said. “It’s every young guy’s dream to be able to compete at a higher level.

“I would love to see myself make it to the big tracks in the long-term. In the near future, I would love to see myself drive in the B-tracks in Ontario to start out. Who knows where it can take off from there?”

With his family behind him and their vast knowledge of harness racing, as well as his excellent record from this season, he hopes bigger prospects are on the horizon. Lapointe keeps a positive outlook and is reminded of a quote from another famous driver.

Like my old friend (Herve) Filion would say, ‘it’s all about the horsepower’. If I get the horsepower, I’ll get there.”

By Shawn Minnix, for Harnesslink