Despite being the overwhelming 1/9 favourite, Light The Torch finished third in the $6,500 Preferred-Handicap Pace co-feature on a rainy Sunday afternoon (June 23) at the Hippodrome 3R (H3R) in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec.
Due to constant heavy rains, the track was sloppy with a three-second allowance from the judges. In the sixth race, Flash Cube (driven by Jocelyn Gendron) took the early lead, passing the quarter-mile mark in :29. Bettor Half (Denis St Pierre) followed closely behind. Before reaching the half-mile in 1:00.3, Frozen Hanover (Somebeachsomewhere) and driver Stephane Brosseau made a first-over move, providing Light The Torch (Pascal Berube) with second-over cover through the three-quarters in 1:31.1.
Around the final turn, Flash Cube maintained the lead, with Frozen Hanover challenging on the outside. Berube moved Light The Torch three wide to mount a challenge. The three horses raced closely down the stretch, requiring a photo finish to determine the winner. Frozen Hanover prevailed by a nose in 2:01.2, with Flash Cube second and Light The Torch third by a head.
Frozen Hanover, a five-year-old stallion trained by Maxime Velaye for owner Guy Corbeil of Mirabel, Quebec, claimed his first win in two starts and paid $12.00 to win.
After a half-hour delay to work on the racetrack, the $8,500 co-feature for Quebec-Bred older pacers saw The Light Speed (Moon Beam) avenge his previous loss against rival Aladdin.
In the eighth race, The Light Speed, driven by Jocelyn Gendron, left from post six, overtaking early pacesetter Cyclone Joe (Sylvain Gagnon) after the opening quarter mile in :28. The Light Speed controlled the pace, reaching the half-mile in :58. Aladdin (Stephane Brosseau) challenged first-over, but The Light Speed maintained a half-length advantage through three-quarters in 1:28.4. In the stretch, The Light Speed held off Aladdin to win by one and three-quarter lengths in 1:59. Aladdin finished second, with YS Sensationalcity (Robert Shepherd) in third.
This victory marked The Light Speed’s eighth win of the season and his sixth in the last eight starts. Trained by Guy Gagnon and owned by Michel Nolette of Princeville, Quebec, The Light Speed paid $3.60 to win.
The Quebec Regional Fair Circuit kicked off on Saturday at St-Joseph-de-Lepage (SJDL). Pocono Downs shipper X O X O, a long-time top Quebec trotter, won a mixed-gait race in 1:59.3, setting a new track record, breaking the previous mark of 2:00.1 set by Mr Logan Mirox in 2021.
X O X O’s trainer, Michel Allard, was the big winner of the day with three victories. Driver Roger Guilbeault, who has driven in five races since 2016, won all five. The fastest pacing mile of the day was recorded by Mickeymaksomespeed in an amateur male driver's event, clocking 1:57.4. Mickeymaksomespeed, who holds the all-time speed record at SJDL with two 1:55.2 miles recorded in 2022, had his 2-year-old full sister Mikamaksomespeed win earlier in the card in 2:11.3. Jonathan Gagnon-Lachance, who drove Mickeymaksomespeed in the 1:57.4 mile, had never driven in a race before.