by Karsten Bønsdorf, USTA Senior Internet News Correspondent

The prestigious winter meeting at Vincennes ended Saturday afternoon (March 4) with a big bang in the main event, the Prix de Selection, which is a Group 1 race with a total purse of $255,000..

Gerard Forni photo

Discours Joyeux with a triumphant Damien Bonné in the sulky won the Prix de Selection.

The 4-year-old Discours Joyeux, driven by Damien Bonné, enjoyed a pocket trip and found racing room down the stretch to get past long-leading Dreamoko, driven by Gabriele Gelormini.

Discours Joyeux, a 57-1 shot, won the 1-3/8-mile event in 1.54.4 (mile rate) and picked up the winner’s purse of $115,000. He is sired by French top sire Goetmals Wood, while Dreamoko is by well known trotter Timoko and is from his first crop.

Vincennes will now be closed until March 21.

The next big event in French trotting is the Grand Criterium de Vitesse at Cagnes sur Mer next Sunday (March 12), which is the biggest mile race in France with a total purse of $212,500.