from the Quebec Jockey Club

Trois-Rivieres, PQ — The opening round of the C$120,000 Quebec-Bred Series for 4 and 5-year-old pacers saw one favorite victorious but another a half-length short of victory on Sunday (May 22) at the Hippodrome 3R.

With sunny skies, warm temperatures and a packed house, race fans were treated to an exciting race card highlighted by two divisions of the Quebec-Bred Series. The series features four preliminary rounds with the top eight point earners coming back for their respective C$30,000 finals on Sunday (June 26).

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Atomic Million AM holds on at the wire in 1:55 for the swiftest mile at the Hippodrome 3R on Sunday (May 22).

The horses were first up in the sixth race with track record holder and two-time series champion, Atomic Million AM, the 4-5 race favorite from post seven for driver Sylvain Lacaille. The duo did not disappoint the crowd despite getting stung early by Mach On The Beach (Pascal Berube) to the opening quarter mile in :27.4 before taking command for good. After the half mile in :57.1, C L Art Magic and trainer/driver Yves Filion came first over and started to gain ground on the race leader to the three-quarters in 1:26.2.
It was then Atomic Million AM and Lacaille felt the pressure and kicked in a :28.3 final quarter mile to hold off both C L Art Magic for second and Mach On The Beach a close third. The margin of victory was just a half-length and the time of the race, the fastest mile on the program in 1:55.

It was the second straight win on the year for Atomic Million AM. The 5-year-old gelded son of Million Dollar Cam is owned and trained by Alain Martin of Gatineau, QC and paid $3.80 to win.

There were ten 4 and 5-year-old mares that went to the post in the ninth race Quebec-Bred Series opening round and all eyes were on Bayama Farms Wanada Bayama and driver/trainer Yves Filion. The 4-year-old Western Ideal mare came to 3R just for the series off a 1:59 qualifying win at Rideau Carlton. Prior to that, she scored a 1:51.4 triumph at Woodbine Race Course in March when she captured the C$54,400 final of the HPIBet.com Series. So rightly she was the overwhelming 1-9 wagering favorite from post seven. The only trouble with that was that a 13-1 long shot by the name of Chaleurs Fantasy could not read the tote board.

Trained and driven by Carl Duguay, Chaleurs Fantasy left from post four and took the early lead away from Big Bertha (Stephane Brosseau) before the opening quarter in :28.4.
The 5-year-old mare by Omar Khayam then led the field to the half mile marker in :58.4 and that was when Filion, who had been sitting in fifth place, came first-over and started grinding their way towards the race leaders. By the three-quarters in 1:27.3, it looked as if Wanda Bayama would show her class and collar Chaleurs Fantasy before the stretch drive, but that did not happen.

Duguay kept his mare in gear and despite Wanda Bayama gaining ground with every stride, could not catch Chaleurs Fantasy by the finish wire as they won by three-quarters of a length in 1:57.3. Hawaiian Drummond (Richard Veilleux) was third.

It was the first start of the year for Chaleurs Fantasy, who was bred and is owned by Elvage Daie De Chaleurs of Port-Daniel, QC. She paid C$29.20 to win.

Night live racing gets underway at the Hippodrome 3R this Tuesday (May 24) with first race post time at 7:00 p.m. Featured on the ten-race program is the opening round of the C$120,000 Quebec-Bred Series for 4 and 5-year-old trotters.

There are three divisions, one for horses and two for mares. The highlight will be the first-time matchup between track record holders and series champions Maximuscle and Seeyou Men.

For more information, visit www.quebecjockeyclub.com