Paris — The first four tickets to the Prix d’Amérique have been handed out.
The Prix de Bretagne, which is the first of four qualifying races for open class trotters, was convincingly won by the 6-year-old Josh Power and trainer/driver Sebastian Ernault in a new race record of 1:54.2 (mile rate).
Josh Power was up front during the race, which was led by Justin Bold and Pierre Yves Verva, but he gave up 100 meters from the finish, where Josh Power pulled away for a comfortable victory.
The favorite, Jushua Tree (Jean-Michel Bazire), had a good run on Justin Bold’s back and found room to attack heading into the stretch. However, Jushua Tree didn’t have the usual kick down the stretch, but still secured second place ahead of Sweden’s Borups Victory (Daniel Wäjersten), who finished impressively after having major traffic problems along the way.
In fourth place was the big outsider J’Aime Le Foot (Antoine Lhereté), a horse that normally starts in under-saddle races.
Now, along with Josh Power, Jushua Tree and Borups Victory, J’Aime Le Foot is ready to compete in the Prix d’Amerique.
Sunday’s program also featured two Group II races for 3-year-olds: one for colts and one for fillies. Both races were won by horses from Phillipe Allaire’s stable.
Italian-born Ginostrabliggi (sired by Muscle Hill) and Gabriele Gelormini outdueled favorite Mack de Blary (Theo Duvaldestin) and has now won his 12th race in 15 starts.
For the fillies, Magic Night (sired by Helgafell) and Paul Ploquin met expectations as the big favorite.
Both races carried a total purse of €120,000.