from Quebec Jockey Club

Trois-Rivieres, QC — Harness racing driver Denis St Pierre wasted no time in scoring his 4,000th career victory at the Hippodrome 3R Wednesday (July 1) evening. He started off the night needed just two wins so he won both ends of the daily double to reach the milestone victory.

“I really wanted to achieve this goal tonight,” Denis St Pierre said. “Because my sister Caroline is here visiting me from New Zealand and it has made for a very special achievement to share with her. I wanted her to go back home with something special.”

St Pierre, 54, hails from Montreal. He has been driving professionally since 1981. His milestone victory came in the second race with D G’s Laurie ($4.50) as they led from start to finish, winning by three-quarters of a length over Thebestofme (Mario Charron) in 1:58.1 over a sloppy, rain soaked track with a three second variant.

“After I won the first race I knew I had to do it in the second,” St Pierre said. “These were my two best drives of the night. You can say I was very determined to win the second race. The first race was very easy.

“I am so happy to have achieved this special mark here in Quebec and at the Hippodrome 3R,” St Pierre said. “I wanted to do it here in front of my family and friends. This is home to me.”

Win number 3,999 for Denis St Pierre came in the first race, an opening round division of the C$200,000 Quebec-Bred Series for 3-year-old trotting colts and fillies.

Driving National Trace, St. Pierre sent the daughter of Taurus Delight right to the lead from post five and never looked back. They held the field at bay until after the three-quarters, opening up by three lengths by the top of the stretch and then pulling away for a 7-1/4 length romp in 2:03.2.

The pocket-sitting SOS Hardrive (Francis Morressette) was second with Double Chance (Sylvain LaCaille) third.

It was the first win in six starts this year for National Trace, who paid $4.50 to win. She is trained by Dany Fontaine and is owned and was bred by Ecurie Gaeton Bono, Inc. of Montreal, QC.

In the third race second division of the Quebec-Bred Series it was Intouchable and driver Mario Charron’s turn to lead from start to finish.

Intouchable is a full brother to Quebec-Bred champion, Maximuscle, and despite being winless as a 2-year-old, Intouchable is making up for lost time at age three, wiring the field in 2:02.2.

Overtaking the lead from Notrouble Dechafra (Stephane Brosseau) before the opening quarter-mile, Intouchable was challenged in the backstretch by a determined Seeyou Men and driver Robert Shepherd.

But they could not collar the race leader, but did make Intouchable kick in another gear as he came home in :29.1 over the sloppy track to win by 1-3/4 lengths. Seeyou Men was second with Notrouble Dechafra third.