It might have been the winner of next year’s Prix d’Amerique we saw winning the Criterium des 5 Ans with a total purse of 300,000 Euro at Vincennes Sunday afternoon (Sept. 17).

Idao de Tillard, trained by Thierry Duvaldestin and with his son Clement in the bike, won the 3,000 meter (approximately 1-7/8th mile) event in 1:55.2 (mile rate) by a short head over 98-1 shot Inmarosa with Leo Abrivard and It’s a Dollarmaker with Eric Raffin finishing third.

Idao de Tillard (sired by Severino) was favored to win this year’s Prix d’Amerique but went off stride going around the last bend. He has since raced eight times and has six wins.

His last win before the Criterium was in the Prix Jockey raced over the same distance as the Prix d’Amerique, 2,700 meters (or 1-11/16th miles), and Idao de Tillard was timed as the winner in 1:53.4 (mile rate), one fraction lower than the race record in the Prix d’Amerique, held by Face Time Bourbon.

It was not only the 5-year-old trotters who competed in Criterium-races Sunday afternoon at Vincennes, before a crowd of 12,500 trotting fans. There were also Criterium-races for 3- and 4-year-olds and with a total purse of 300,000 Euro each as well.

Krack time Atout, sired by Face Time Bourbon, trained by Sebastian Guarato and with Paul Philippe Ploquin in the bike sprang a surprise by winning the Criterium des 3 Ans over 2,700 meters in 1:56.3 (mile rate) at 49-1.

The Criterium des 4 Ans was also won by an outsider — 24-1 shot Josh Power (sired by Offshore Dream) with trainer/driver Sebastian Ernault. The win time in this event raced over 1-3/4 miles was 1:56.1 (mile rate).