The first quarter of the 21st century ends with an exciting edition of the Prix d’Amérique. Iron removal will play a crucial role in this. Entered his ninth year, Go On Boy only played barefoot three times. Ultra unlucky last winter (traffic problems in America, punctured sulky wheel in the Prix de France), Romain Derieux’s champion was able to display all his talent during the UET Final Elite Circuit, October 11, 2024, pinning down its rivals after circling around Francesco Zet et Idao de Tillard since the climb! The Ile-de-France coach focused everything on this last Sunday in January. “My horse was beaten by Idao de Tillard in the Prix de Bourgogne and I hope to reverse the trend, he declared to Arnaud Lecomte. Everything is looking good, but it will take a little success.”
Even if Go On Boy had finished at the speed of the wind in the previous edition, the best had undoubtedly won, sinceIdao de Tillard had constantly battled at the front before showing himself to be imperial in the straight. The ease with which he returned to success at the end of December fully reassured his fans. At the end of the Prix de Bourgogne, Thierry Duvaldestin found it “more flexible than ever”so much so that the idea of unshoeing him for the first time arose in his mind. If it will have weight to compensate (read below), Idao de Tillard will benefit from the vascular pump effect of the feet coming into direct contact with the ground. This will necessarily bring him a plus and this risk-taking, which had smiled on Royal Dream in 2013, could pay cash again.
It seems reasonable to expand the expected match for victory to a third element. A credible foreign application gives a lot of spice to an American Prize and the Swedish San Engine has earned its racetrack star stripes a long time ago. Twelve months after having to give up due to injury, Björn Goop’s resident has regained his full potential. “He still performs well running more than a month apart, explained the former partner of Face Time Bourbon et Readly Express to Christophe Meyer. He’s at the top.”
Many challengers
Let’s return to the complete shoe removal, which Benoît Robin also kept for the D-day concerning Hussar of Landret. “He had galloped at the start in 2024, which is not his habit. Above all, I hope that we will have no regrets this year. My horse is great at work.” Easy to handle, Josh Power excels in major events. Go On Boy and he will try to surpass his uterine brothers Fakir you Vivier et Hadol du Vivier, respectively 2e et 4e of the 1978 Prix d’Amérique, won by Grandpré. If he won his two strong Critériums, the 5 year old Keep Going also knows how to sneak and finish strong. Mathieu Mottier’s resident has the enthusiasm of youth on his side.
-Dazzling winner two years ago, Hooker Berry always looks so dapper in the morning. “It is absolutely necessary to hide it, insisted Nicolas Bazire to Christophe Meyer. If it comes out of the quinté, I will have made a drive error.“There will be four of them seeking the succession of Belina Josselyn, the only mare to have entered her name in the 21st century. Just Love You has been No. 1 in her class in harness since the age of 3. Alexandre Abrivard sees himself as having a good chance of breaking into the top five, an ambition shared by Thomas Levesque with Iroise de la Noé, who has the profile of a future Fan Idol. “She knows how to do the last mile on her own”, notes his trainer-driver.
The oldest of the peloton at 11 years old, Emeraude de Bais will appeal to fans of outsiders, like Justin Bold, supported by the entire north of France, Fakir de Mahey, hard as stone, Ideal Lineries, what Benjamin Rochard will discover, It’s a Dollarmaker, having “worked well on the beach”, dixit Adrien Guarato, or encore Ampia Mede Sm, however less sharp than in 2023, when she was the runner-upHooker Berry before winning the Prix de France and Paris.
