Josh Power, Emeraude de Bais, Hokkaido Jiel, and Fakir de Mahey. These four French trotters are now ready for the Prix d’Amerique after Sunday’s (Dec. 8) qualifying race, the Prix de Bourbonnais at Vincennes.
The qualification of the 5-year-old Josh Power, trained by Sebastian Ernault and driven to victory by Eric Raffin, was not a big surprise; Josh Power was the second favorite and is a horse that has won classic races like the Criterium des 4 Ans and Criterium des 5 Ans.
The same can be said about the 7-year-old Hokkaido Jiel, trained by Jean Luck Dersoir and driven by David Thomain, who was second in this year’s Prix d’Amerique.
On the other hand, the 10-year-old mare Emeraude de Bais, trained by Benjamin Goetz and driven by Pierre Yves Verva, 38-1 in the betting, and the 9-year-old Fakir de Mahey with trainer/driver Mathieu Mottier at 100-1, were surprising qualifiers.
The defending Prix d’Amerique winne, Idao de Tillard, trained by Thierry Duvaldestin and driven by his son Clement Duvaldestin, disappointed by finishing eighth in the field of 18.
There are still two qualifying races for the older trotters — Prix de Bourgogne on Dec. 29 and Prix de Belgique on Jan. 12.
San Moteur of Sweden, together with French trotters Hooker Berry, Hussard de Landret and Just Love You, are also qualified to race in the Prix d’Amerique.
Sunday afternoon also featured a Group 1 race for 3-year-olds at Vincennes. The Prix de l’Etoile over 2,100 meters auto, with a total prize pool of 200,000 Euros, was won in a close finish by the French Lovino Bello with Eric Raffin, ahead of the Italians Frank Gio with Mathieu Abrivard and First of Mind with Gabriele Gelormini.
The victory was quite controversial, as Lovino Bello was recently disqualified after a positive doping test in Italy, but was still allowed to start in France.