from the Quebec Jockey Club

Trois-Rivieres, PQ — The Hippodrome 3R will host the final preliminary round of the C$200,000 Quebec-Bred Series for 3-year-old trotters on Wednesday (July 22).

After this fourth round of the series, the top eight point earners in each division (colt and filly) will return on Sunday (Sept. 6) for their respective C$65,000 finals.

All eyes will be on Intouchable in the sixth race, second division of the series. Last week the royally bred son of Angus Hall saw his impressive three-race winning streak come to an end as he broke stride at the start of the race and finished in a distant fifth place.

“He hit his knee leaving out of the gate and went on a run,” said driver Mario Charron about Intouchable. “I heard him hit his knee and knew we were in trouble.

“It took a little bit to get him back on stride,” Charron explained, “But I know he will be alright. His trainer, Maxime Velaye, will have him ready to go again on Wednesday. He will straighten out his shoeing so it does not happen again.”

In that race last week, Seeyou Men and driver Robert Shepherd led from start to finish and set a track record for 3-year-old trotting geldings with a 1:59.3 triumph.

“That colt went a tremendous mile,” Charron said, “We will have to worry about him in the final next month. I just want to see my horse go a good mile on Wednesday.”

Intouchable starts from post six in the second division that also features National Trace (post four), Double Chance (post one) and SOS Revange (post six).

In the fifth race, first division of the series, the filly D’Espoir leads the field from post one for driver Pascal Berube. This daughter of Windsong Espoir was able to close with a burst of speed at the top of the stretch last week and post an easy victory on the off-track.

She will face stiff competition from rivals SOS Harddrive (post three), 2012 champion Meganou (post five) and Promesses Imperial (post seven).

After this Sunday’s live race card, the Hippodrome 3R will be taking a break from live harness racing for the Trois-Rivieres Auto Grand Prix. Racing will resume on Wednesday (Aug. 12). The track will still be open for simulcasting and the casino. For more information visit www.quebecjockeyclub.com.