On Sunday afternoon (Jan. 11), the final qualifying race for the Prix d’Amerique will be held at the Vincennes track in Paris.
In the Prix de Belgique over 2,850 meters — that is, about 1 3/4 miles — 13 horses will compete. Once again, four wild cards are at stake. Only one of the participants has previously qualified, and that is J’aime le Foot with Antoine Lhereté, who is not considered to have a strong chance.
Last year, the race was won surprisingly by Iroise de la Noe with her trainer Thomas Levesque driving. This year, Levesque has handed over the reins of the 8-year-old mare to champion driver Eric Raffin, and the pair are favorites.
So far, 12 horses have qualified, but it is already known that Liza Josselyn will not use her spot. She will instead race in the Prix Bold Eagle, a Group 1 race for 5-year-old trotters held on Saturday during the Prix d’Amerique weekend.
This means that, in addition to the four spots that can be taken on Sunday, there are also three places that go to the horses with the highest lifetime earnings.
These are Go On Boy, who finished second in the race last year, the Swedish horse Francesco Zet, and the former winner, Hooker Berry.
Go On Boy, with Romain Derieux, is the favorite, followed by Jushua Tree, who has so far been driven by Jean Michel Bazire.
However, the 20-time French champion driver, Jean Michel Bazire, was last week involved in a training accident at Grosbois and was injured so seriously that it will be several weeks before he can compete again.
Instead, his son, Nicolas Bazire, is now responsible for driving the second favorite, Jushua Tree.
The Prix de Belgique is the fourth race at Vincennes on Sunday, starting at 9:15 a.m. Eastern Time, and can be watched live at www.letrot.com.