Hippodrome 3R: Milestone for Berube on opening day of 2023 season

Driver Pascal Berube started the 2023 opening day at the Hippodrome 3R in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, on Sunday (April 20) afternoon the same way he ended the race meet in 2022, winning. And by the end of the afternoon, Berube had made his 3,000th career trip to the winner's circle. Earlier this season he surpassed C$9 million in purses won by the horses he has driven over his career.

Rain had ended before the start of the race card, but the track was still listed as slow with a one second allowance by the judges.

Berube, 51, of Portneuf, Quebec, started off opening day at H3R by winning the very first race with Hooter Shooter (Badlands Hanover). They took the lead after the first quarter and wired the field in a romp by 4 3/4 lengths in 2:02.

This was win #2,999. Just one more needed for Berube and eight races to go.

"I was very excited to win the first race of the year at H3R," Berube said. "It was a good way to start the day."

Race fans knew Berube was gunning for his 3,000th win, so they bet him down to 1-5 in the second race with Ladycorona, but she finished third.

Berube was not in the hunt for the next three races, but then he had Goldinthebadlands, who was wagered down to 1-9 in the sixth race pace. They were parked out first-over from the start of the race, but finally cleared to the lead as they came down the stretch. However, they would be caught at the wire by P L Gyro (Francis Picard), falling a quarter of a length short in a 2:01 mile.

Next up was the seventh race Preferred Trot, and Berube had another big favorite to drive in Stella Alpha. She was an 11-race winner last year and set a track record at H3R for Berube. This looked to be the milestone winner, but it didn't work out that way.

Stella Alpha and Berube went off as the 2-5 race favorite and worked their way to the lead over Morally Flexible (Stephane Brosseau) after a 29 4/5 first quarter. Also stuck on the outside was A R Hercule and owner/trainer/driver Jean-Paul Rousse, and they came after Stella Alpha, pressing the mare to the half mile in 59 seconds where A R Hercule actually had the lead on the rim, but Berube would not let them clear to the front.

Rousse kept the pressure on with A R Hercule down the backstretch, and was again on the lead on the outside at the three-quarters in 1:29 3/5, but Berube would not let them clear by Stella Alpha. And all the while, Morally Flexible was boxed in along the pylons in third. As they started down the stretch, Brosseau had clearance to pull out as A R Hercule could no longer keep up. Stella Alpha was softened up and barely could hold her lead, then all it took was a 32 4/5 last quarter for Morally Flexible (Break The Bank) to beat Stella Alpha to the wire by one length in 2:02 3/5.

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Now came the eighth race Preferred Pace and Berube was driving Delicate Sound (State Treasurer), who went off as the 6-5 favorite.

Berube took no chances and sent Delicate Sound right to the lead but once again was challenged on the outside, this time by D Gs De Vito (Jonathan Lachance), who was first-over and a head away from the lead through fractions of 29, 1:00 2/5 and 1:29 2/5. But this time Berube had some power between the shafts of his racebike as Delicate Sound dug in and shook off D Gs De Vito to win by three-quarters of a length in 1:59 1/5.

"I was still happy with the effort provided by my two horses with whom I thought I would win and who finished second," Berube added. "But I still had my horse in the eighth race who I trusted. He was my Joker in case of not having done it before him.

"As I had said before," Berube concluded about his 3,000th win, "For me personally it's a milestone to which I am proud to arrive."

Berube is coming off his best season ever in 2022 as he won 206 races with 163 second- and 132 third-place finishes. His UDRS or "batting average" last year was .388 and he had earnings of nearly C$1 million.

By the end of the race card, both Pascal Berube and Francis Picard scored driving doubles, as did trainer Marc-Andre Simoneau. Both of Simoneau's winners were driven by Berube.

The Hippodrome 3R is currently featuring live racing on Sundays at 12:00 noon. For more information, visit www.hippodrome3R.ca.

--press release (Quebec Jockey Club)--