Paris — On Saturday afternoon (April 18), Idao de Tillard won the Prix de l’Atlantique at Enghien Racecourse, setting a new race record in his first win since the 2025 Prix d’Amérique.
The Prix de l’Atlantique is the only Group 1 race at Enghien and is raced over 2,150 meters (about 1-5/16 miles) for a purse of 200,000 euros.
Before the race, Thierry Duvaldestin, trainer of Idao de Tillard, said:
“Idao de Tillard will run a good race, but he’s not at his peak yet!”
Well, that means we have big things to look forward to from the French star trotter, who today finished in :26.4 and won comfortably in a new race record time of 1:52.4 (mile rate), improving on Horsy Dream’s old 2024 record of 1:54.3 (mile rate).
Italy’s Frank Gio, driven by Matthieu Abrivard, set the pace throughout. In the stretch, he was attacked by Go On Boy with Romain Derieux, who looked poised to win until Idao de Tillard appeared on the outside and went past to score.
Go On Boy, wearing all four shoes, was a clearly approved runner-up, while Keep Going and Matthieu Mottier took third.
After the race, Idao de Tillard received an invitation to compete in the Elitloppet. He is the third French horse invited to this year’s edition — the other two are Go On Boy and Inexess Bleu.
At this point, Sweden-based trotters A Fair Day, Jobpost, and Allegiant have also been invited.
U.S.-born Allegiant remains unbeaten since joining trainer Daniel Redén in Sweden. She made her seasonal debut on March 4 with a decisive win in 1:55.1f (mile rate).