by harness racing publicists across North America

The Sunday (July 8) edition of Racing Roundup features a results story from Hippodrome 3R, Tioga Downs and Saratoga Casino Hotel.

Third and final leg of series at H3R

Trois-Rivieres, QC — The third and final preliminary legs of the Quebec-bred Series for 4-and 5-year-old harness racing horses and mares was held Sunday (July 8) at the Hippodrome 3R. This was the most important leg of the series as horses are vying for points to insure they will make the C$30,000 finals that will take place on a special Thursday night race card at H3R on Aug. 9.

the photodesk.ca photo

HP Patriote wins his division of the Quebec-bred Series on Sunday afternoon.

It was the sixth win this year for HP Patriote, a 4-year-old gelding by Vintage Master, who is trained by Gerard Demers and owned by Les Ecuries GLF, Inc. of St. Andre-Avelin and Claude Hamel of Ayers’S Cliff and paid $5.80 to win. HP Patriote was the Quebec-series champion in 2016 at age 3.

In the eighth race Quebec-bred Sseries for mares it was a story of the lead changing maybe five times during the one-mile race.

It started out with Queen Elsa (Stephane Gendron) going to the early lead with Skyfall Sena (Jonathan Lachance) getting the pocket-seat, but before the opening quarter mile in :28.1, Imagine Speed (Tyler Jones) was first-over and cleared to the lead, only to have Queen Else and Gendron re-take control of the race.

Then after the half-mile marker in :58, Art De Gagnee (Pierre Luc Roy) came first-over and as Imagine Speed started to fade in the pocket and Art De Gagnee dropped into the two-hole, still behind Queen Elsa.

In the backstretch, it was Wild River Swan (Francis Picard) ending up first-over at the three-quarters in 1:27. Then Queen Elsa began to fade on the final turn, putting Wild River Swan on the lead with Art De Gagnee coming after her and three-wide from the back of the pack was HP Sissy and driver Stephane Brosseau.

But they did not have enough momentum to catch Wild River Swan, who pulled off the upset win by one and three-quarter lengths in 1:57.4 over HP Sissy and Art De Gagnee.

It was the second win in five starts this year for Wild River Swan. She is the older sister (by one year) of Wildriverbumblebee. Both are sired by Sportswriter from the Mach Three mare, Alcor Semalu. She is trained by Harold Duguay and owned by Dr. John Bradbury of Brookshire-Eaton. She paid $31.30 to win.

Pascal Berube was on fire at H3R Sunday, winning four races on the program. Stephane Brosseau had three wins and trainer Charles Gaudreault sent out two winners from his stable.

Track Notes: There is a change in post time for this Tuesday (July 10) at H3R. Post time will be 7:15 p.m., 45 minutes later than normal due to a motorcycle event next to the racetrack.
Tuesday’s card featured the final leg of the Quebec-bred series for 4-and 5-year-old trotters. Top trotters entered include Kinnder Dangerous, KFB Amigo Cool, Capteur De Reve, Y S Suzanne and EAU Naturelle.

Please remember post time Tuesday is at 7:15 pm. For more information or a free race program, visit www.quebecjockeyclub.com.

— from the Quebec Jockey Club

Tioga Downs

Dee’s Rocketman (Andy Santeramo) won the Sunday matinee (July 8) Open Pace ($11,000) at Tioga Downs. Chumlee A (Larry Staubaum) covered all the early fractions (:27.1, :55.3, 1:23.3) Dee’s Rocketman ($18.40) went first-over resembling his name, looking like a rocket in the stretch. Owned by Joe Martinelli Sr. and trained by Mickey McNichol, he won in 1:52.0. Owosso Flash (Fern Paquet Jr.) charged late to get second money. Time Out I’m Tired (Aaron Byron) was third. Dee’s Rocketman is a 6-year-old ridgling by Rock N Roll Heaven. It was his ninth win in 2018 and his 20th career victory. Bruce Clark gets a double double with training and driving wins with Niall Hanover ($9.20) and Heartbeat Hill ($3.00). Jim Taggart Jr. had a driving double with Bettorsluckystreak ($17.20) and Tarport Andy ($15.80). The driving title for 2018 continues to be wide-open. Jim Meittinis and Aaron Byron are tied for the lead with 31 wins each. Mike Merton and Jim Taggart Jr. are tied for third with 29 tallies. Andy Sateramo is fifth with 20 wins. Gary Messenger continues to lead trainers in wins. He has won 22 races so far. Mike Deters is second with 18 victories. Joe Skowyra (13), Bruce Clarke (12) and Mark Major (10) round out the top five. Tioga Downs returns to live racing on Friday (July 13) starting at 6:10 p.m. For more information got to www.tiogadowns.com.

Saratoga Casino Hotel

The veteran Cash Me Out (Cash Hall) has been a winning machine throughout what has been an illustrious career. By his standards, the start of the 2018 campaign was a slow one for the 7-year-old Kyle Spagnola-trained trotter who took six weeks off after making breaks in back to back starts in the Open Trot at Saratoga Casino Hotel. Cash Me Out romped in his return to the track two weeks ago while competing in a conditioned race and subsequently was back into the $14,500 Open Trot on Sunday afternoon. Leading driver Billy Dobson piloted Cash Me Out and wasted no time cruising the odds-on favorite out to the early lead. A Saratoga regular throughout his career, Cash Me Out coasted to a wire-to-wire score on Sunday to register his first victory in the Open Trot this season. The win time of 1:55.1 matched the mark he set while prevailing in his previous start. Entranced (Dan Cappello Jr.) made his debut in the Open Trot on Sunday and closed sharply up the inside to finish second. Tropical Storm Bi (Phil Fluet), who won the previous installment of the Open at Saratoga, was assigned the outside post this week and still came from the back of the pack to earn the show spot. Cash Me Out was the public’s 3-5 betting favorite as he won for the 33rd time in his career. The veteran trotter now has lifetime earnings of more than $890,000. The exacta and triple in Sunday’s Open paid $16.80 and $137.50, respectively. Live racing resumes on Thursday afternoon at Saratoga with a matinee kicking off at 12:15 p.m.