Paris — Two-time Prix d’Amérique winner Idao de Tillard, driven for the first time by Theo Duvaldestin, was an easy winner of the one-mile Prix de Washington on Saturday (July 11) at the Enghien track in Paris in 1:49.2 — the fastest time in which any trotter has ever won a race in France.
Normally, Clement Duvaldestin sits behind Idao de Tillard, who is trained by his father, Thierry, but Clement is suspended, giving his younger brother Theo the opportunity.
Idao de Tillard dominated the race and safely held off favorite Go on Boy with Romain Derieux.
The first prize was 54,000 euros.
While the top French horses were in action in Paris, the Swedish horses competed at the Årjäng track in Sweden in the one-mile Årjäng Stora Sprinterpris.
Last year, Gio Cash and Daniel Wäjersten won the race, and the pair repeated the victory after taking the lead from the start in a battle with Francesco Zet, driven by trainer Daniel Redén.
Along the way, Wäjersten dictated the pace behind Gio Cash, but the victory nearly came under threat when another horse from Redén’s stable, Xanthis Harry, with Magnus A. Djuse, who had raced on the outside without cover for most of the trip, closed strongly at the end. Gio Cash, however, held on to cross the line first in 1:51.3f.
Xanthis Harry finished second, while Francesco Zet was third with plenty left in reserve.
The first prize there was 45,000 euros, along with an invitation to start in the Åberg Memorial on July 28 at Jägersro.