from the Quebec Jockey Club

Trois-Rivieres, PQ — The track record for pacers going an extra distance of 1-1/2 miles was rewritten Sunday (Aug. 27) at the Hippodrome 3R by Windsun Cheyene and driver Stephane Brosseau.

The sixth race 10-horse field saw the 3-5 wagering favorite, Windsun Cheyenne and Brosseau shoot right to the lead from post five and never look back in the three-lap race.

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Windsun Cheyenne sets a new track record of 2:58.1 at H3R for the 1-1/2 mile distance.

Windsun Cheyenne held the field at bay, winning by three lengths in 2:58.1 over Northern Juno (Denis Audet) with P L Gyro (Andre Champagne) third.

The prior track record was 3:02 set by Aarons Mattjesty, also driven by Brosseau, back in 2013. The North American record is 2:56.3 held by Slybye N at Northfield Park in 2003.

It was the fifth win this year for Windsun Cheyenne, a 7-year-old gelding by Cam’s Card Shark, who is owned and trained by Gina Bragannolo of Lavaltrie. He paid $3.40 to win.

Rainbow Palace and driver Francis Picard pulled off the biggest upset victory of the day in the eighth race Invitational Pace. The only mare in field and sent off at odds of 13-1, Picard and Rainbow Palace were able to come first-over from third place on the final turn and nail pacesetter and 4-5 race favorite, Sports Authority (Pierre Luc Roy), at the wire to win by a neck in 1:54.3.

The pocket-sitting Glass Shadow, driven by Stephane Brosseau, was third.

For Rainbow Palace, a 5-year-old mare by Royal Mattjesty, it was a lifetime mark and her fifth win this year for trainer Dominique D. Picard. Rainbow Palace is owned by Francis Picard of Warwick. She paid $28.80 to win.

The Invitational Trot in race seven saw trainer/driver Guy Gagnon go gate-to-wire with the 1-5 favorite, Unabating, in 1:59.1. The 9-year-old gelding by Broadway Hall won with ease in a romp by 7-1/4 lengths over the 72-1 long shot Federal Strike (Sylvain Fontaine) with Torches Angel (Pierre Luc Roy) third.

Track Notes: Harness driver Stephane Brosseau, was honored in the winner’s circle at H3R Sunday by track management on achieving his 3,000th career victory Saturday afternoon at Ayer’s Cliff on the Quebec Regional Fair Circuit. Brosseau is the leading dash winning driver this season at H3R.

Live racing resumes Tuesday night at H3R when the trotting mare Lucky Promesses goes for her ninth straight win for owner/driver Jerome Lombart. Post time is 7 p.m.

For more information, visit www.quebecjockeyclub.com.