The only female driver at this Sunday’s meeting at Paris-Vincennes, Clarisse Lelièvre will be on the sulky ofIllusion Jipad in the Prix Helen Johansson (Gr. III), an event contested over the 2,100 meters autostart, and reserved for females aged 6 to 8 years. In training with her partner this Monday, Clarisse looks back on her mare’s chances: “Everything is looking good for a good performance. She has remained well since Monday. There are two/three good mares, but she came across a good number.” Her father, Pascal Lelièvre, trainer of this girl Boccador de Simmcontacted at the beginning of the week, gave more details on the preparation of his resident: “Lately at Cagnes, she had a good performance, showing her worth. The autostart departure over 2,100 meters is much clearer for her than that of 2,700 meters on the fly. (editor’s note, where she was at fault in the GNT final). The mare is good. We necessarily count on it, because we esteem it.”
If the young driver is participating in the 3rd group race at Vincennes of her career, it was not necessarily in the plans of the father/daughter Lelièvre duo: “It wasn’t really planned that I would drive it on Sunday. My father suggested to me some time ago to lead it. I initially refused, because it was too important a race, but ultimately I gave him the choice. If it goes well, it could be a good experience for me, and on paper we have a chance of doing well. We’re probably not the best in the race, but we’re not the worst either.”
The one who already has 68 victories does not seem impressed by this stage, nor even by the fact that she is the only representative of the fairer sex during the race. “There will probably be a bit of pressure on the day, but for now, it’s okay. I am very happy to participate in the Helen Johansson Prize, which still represents women in this profession (editor’s note, the only female driver to have won the Prix d’Amérique, in 1995). It’s very nice to race in a great meeting like this. I know that there are few women who only drive. I didn’t even know I was the only one on Sunday, because I try not to think about things like that. For me, in a peloton, there are no differences between men and women, we are all drivers.”
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