This Sunday, the second qualifying race for the Prix d’Amerique – Prix de Bourbonnais – will be held at Vincennes, raced over 1-3/4 miles, with four wild cards up for grabs once again.
But the journey toward a start in the Prix d’Amerique is also underway on other fronts.
At Solvalla, Daniel Redén-trained Francesco Zet, driven by Örjan Kihlström, competed in the France Bulwarks Lopp over 1-5/16 miles to test his form before heading to Paris.
However, Francesco Zet never got into contention and finished in fifth place.
Italian Clarissa, a 7-year-old mare sired by Exploit Caf and driven by her trainer Alessandro Gocciadoro, took the lead early and won quite convincingly, and she might be a candidate for a start in the Prix d’Amerique.
While it was disappointing from a Swedish perspective that Francesco Zet underperformed, it was uplifting to see another Swedish horse return to racing victorious after being away for 14 months.
The 5-year-old Fame And Glory, a Tactical Landing half-brother to Calgary Games (sired by Readly Express), made his seasonal debut at Vincennes with Björn Goop in the sulky in a Group II race with a first prize of 120,000 Euros.
Fame And Glory, trained by Timo Nurmos, sat behind the leading favorite, the French horse Koctel du Dain with David Thomain, but when Koctel du Dain went off stride going into the homestretch, Fame And Glory was handed the lead.
Approaching the finish, he was challenged by another Swedish trotter, Immortal Doc, trained by Fredrik Wallin and driven by Paul Philippe Ploquin, but Fame And Glory held off the challenge and won by three-quarters of a length.
Fame And Glory will race next on Dec. 21 in the Prix Tenor de Baune, where the winner will receive a wild card to the Prix d’Amerique.