Three days before the harness trotting world championship, the SETF organized a press conference to focus on the Prix d’Amérique. Once broadcast the last 500 meters of the 2024 edition in which Idao de Tillard was essential as in the parade, the drivers and trainers (some present in Vincennes, others by video) answered a battery of questions. If the main information of this half hour was Clément Duvaldestin’s reaction to the unshoeing of all four feet for the first timeIdao de Tillard (READ HERE), here are a few sentences that caught our attention.
Apart from your partner, who is the trotter who impressed you during the qualifying events?
Alexandre Abrivard : “All the winners were good, but there were also some good people who qualified for the places. It’s hard to detach one, but Keep Going still did less than 1’10” all alone in the mud. Last year, Jushua Tree hadn’t been faster than him on the course, but we all expected to put Jushua Tree favorite for the Prix d’Amérique…”
Nicolas Bazire: “All the qualifiers were good, my preference will be towards Idao de Tillard.”
Eric Raffin: “I really liked San Engine. Afterwards, as we can see from the declarations, he will not be removed from the four. But I remember I was two with him and he did whatever he wanted with me. I found him very good in the Prix de Bretagne and he then won very well at Åby.”
Clément Duvaldestin: “Overall, I liked all the winners, but I like Keep Going. Mathieu Mottier is doing wonderfully.”
Jean-Rémi Delliaux: “My take on this edition? Necessarily Idao de Tillard et Go On Boy. Afterwards, I don’t think that this year one horse will be able to go around the others. This Prix d’Amérique will be fast, yes, there are horses to go in front, but it will be tactical. We will need a good run. If we finish in the five, that’s great, in the three, extraordinary. It’s a great pleasure for me. At 55 years old, this will be my first starter in a Prix d’Amérique, it’s extraordinary.”
Latest news from the protagonists of the Prix d’Amérique…
Jean-Rémi Delliaux: “Justin Bold is fine. We worked in good conditions, at the beach, with very mild weather. He was ready and stayed well. He is a very hard-working horse. He never gives up and I think he’s on the rise. He is only progressing.”
Eric Raffin: “Yes, it’s true that Josh Power will face his brother (Go On Boy), we would all have liked to have the broodmare (Balginette)… Apart from the Prix de Bretagne which I drove very badly, the preparation of Josh Power was very good. He won the Prix du Bourbonnais and ran very well in the Prix de Bourgogne, without artifice and being unshod as before. Now the horse is good and Sébastien (Ernault) looks confident. Before the moment, we race more for the very good places than the first, I think. There are very good preparations. A horse like Go On Boy is second in the Prix de Bourgogne. Romain (Derieux) ran it as if it were a first drum race, without taking off the blinders or unblocking his ears. Sunday is a very good race. The person who gives the first three in order is stronger than me.”
Eric Raffin: “We believe that Josh Power is a big starter, but yet, having driven it, I sometimes have a little trouble getting it to go. That said, what is certain is that it follows all the trains, so if there is a lot of rhythm, it will benefit us. Personally, I’m not fixated on a first victory in the Prix d’Amérique, I have no right to complain. My fondest memory in America? The second place of Roxane Griff behind Ready Cash (Editor’s note: in 2012).”
-Alexandre Abrivard : “With Just Love Youwe had a dream meeting by qualifying via the rule changes in the Prix de Bretagne (4th). We prepared her well for her big goal which was the Prix Ténor de Baune. She was 100%. Will we have managed to bring it to 120% on Sunday? The race will tell us… We hope to have done our best in any case.”
Nicolas Bazire. : “Oui, Hooker Berry is as good as in 2023. He is aging well, still very keen and that is the main thing. I didn’t drive him at his best in Belgium, but he had a great race. In all “B”, he was very good. I find it better than last year.”
Clément Duvaldestin: “Idao de Tillard is not bad, everything is fine for him. Everything seems resolved (Editor’s note: Idao tested positive for leptospirosis), his latest victory demonstrates this. Idao will be in good shape to defend their chances. he worked this Thursday morning. Tomorrow he will go to the paddock and on Saturday he will have a little walk, nothing crazy.”
Thomas Levesque : “We have ambitions, but we haven’t focused everything on Sunday’s race. Iroise de la Noé was stopped for a long time due to health concerns. She has several races to come back well and she is on the upward slope, but that’s not why you have to do a death race. This race is a bonus. We will be less sharp than some who aimed for the Prix d’Amérique. Yes, it’s definitely a great pride to run under my training and with the family colors.”
The departure:
Eric Raffin: “Yes, it’s a moment we dread. There will be 18 of us, everyone will want to take a good place, so there will be a certain tension. Afterwards, you shouldn’t lose your temper though.”
Nicolas Bazire: “It’s always complicated, there are a lot of people. Everyone is there early and not moving too much, so you have to be there straight away with a horse that holds up, that’s important.”
Alexandre Abrivard : “It’s the hardest start of the year. If it is missed, the race is lost. There are 18 of us, the horses are almost all equal, it’s the most crucial start of the year, the one we don’t want to miss.”
To watch this press conference in full:
