Bold Eagle trots to Triple Crown triumph
February 26, 2017,by Karsten Bønsdorf, USTA Senior Internet Newsroom Correspondent
The 6-year old French trotter Bold Eagle, driven by Franck Nivard, won the third leg of the French Triple Crown, the Grand Prix de Paris, easily on Sunday afternoon (Feb. 26) at Vincennes in Paris, France.
This was the first time since Bellino II in 1976, that a trotter won the Prix d’Amerique, Prix de France and Prix de Paris, which are the three big international races during the winter meeting.
Gerard Forni photo
Bold Eagle emphatically ends a 41-year drought to become the fourth French Triple Crown winner on Saturday afternoon in Paris.
In the back of the field for most of the trip, Bold Eagle, finished strongly to win the 2-5/8 miles event by a length in 1.59 (mile rate) followed by Briac Dark and Bird Parker.
In fact, the first five finishers were all from the French 2011 crop.
Bold Eagle picked up the winner’s purse of $190,000, plus a Triple Crown bonus of $320,000.
He is just the fourth trotter in history to win the Triple Crown and will now concentrate on stud duties. He will still be in training, however, as the next big target for the French top trotter is the Elitlopp in late May at Solvalla.
The Elitlopp will be the first time ever that Bold Eagle will race over the distance of a mile, as to date his shortest race has been 1-5/16 miles.
- Bold Eagle ready for the Prix d’Amerique (Monday, December 12, 2016)
The defending champion Bold Eagle was an easy winner of the second test race for the 2017 Prix d’Amerique, the Prix du Bourbonnais, at Vincennes on Sunday afternoon (Dec. 11).
- Who can beat Bold Eagle? (Saturday, January 28, 2017)
The French trotting star Bold Eagle, driven by Franck Nivard, is the heavy favorite for Prix d’Amerique Opodo at Vincennes Sunday (Jan. 29) at 10:05 a.m. (EST) and he could be as short as 4-10 in the betting.
- Bold Eagle wins the Prix d’Amerique in a new world record (Sunday, January 29, 2017)
The French trotting sensation Bold Eagle, driven by Franck Nivard, won the Prix d’Amerique (1-11/16th mile distance) in a new world record of 1:54.3 (mile rate) on Sunday afternoon (Jan. 29) at Vincennes. That was the second time in a row Bold Eagle won this prestigious race and the second time he was timed in a new world record. Last year he won in 1:54.4.
- Bold Eagle cruises by three lengths in the Prix de France (Sunday, February 12, 2017)
French trotting sensation Bold Eagle driven by Franck Nivard showed once again that he is in a class of his own winning, the prestigious Prix de France over 1-5/16 mile Sunday afternoon (Feb. 12) at Vincennes, Paris, France.
- Bold Eagle chasing French Triple Crown and lucrative bonus (Saturday, February 25, 2017)
French trotting sensation Bold Eagle with regular driver Franck Nivard in the bike is chasing $510,000 Sunday afternoon (Feb. 26) at Vincennes, in Paris, France.