THE winter meeting at Vincennes, Paris comes to its traditional climax this weekend with the running of the centennial Prix d’Amerique of €900,000, backed by the main sponsor of the event, Case Tractors.
The great race was established in 1920, the name meaning thanksgiving for the help of America in the First World War. However, there have not been 100 renewals as the sides in the conflict collided again in 1939, which naturally affected the trotting programme.
Spare a thought for the stable lads and lasses in the large European trotting stables. If the biggest weekend of the year falls on the last weekend in January we can be sure that the grooms get many a freezing and soaking. The kickback when driving a harness horse is exacerbated in wintry conditions, and central France is very cold at this time of year.
There has always been a flow of Irish and British visitors to the Prix d’Amerique but in the past six years the trickle of trotting followers has become a flood. Formal links have been carefully nurtured by the IHRA and Le Trot. The result is that many Irish horsemen will know some of the families of horses, drivers and trainers in action at Vincennes.
Horses closely related to runners at Portmarnock will be on both cards. Realistically, Vincennes is Europe’s top track while Ireland is still an emerging nation so Irish trainers travelling over this weekend will be keen to keep an eye on the latest harness and sulkies at the ‘Temple of Trot’.
Garvagh, Co Derry breadman Nigel Quigley has been nominated by the IHRA to represent this country in the European championship for amateur drivers. The race is on tonight’s card.
Bargain buy
Affable Nigel first came to prominence around 2010 when he regularly beat the best around with his bargain buy Driven By Design. In recent seasons Nigel has produced Europeen, a typical scopey Trotteur Français.
The pair danced every dance last year and were rewarded with a win on the last day of the season.
Hopefully, Nigel will draw a better horse than his fellow Irishman Tadhg Murphy drew last year. Tadhg’s drive in the Coupe des Amateurs European galloped like he was over at Longchamp!
Quigley told The Irish Field: “I have my race plan worked out already. Get to the front and keep improving your position.”
Tomorrow’s feature event is a fascinating contest. With around 18 runners lining up for the volté start, there will be the usual cross section of up and coming young stars, journeymen types who travel the roads of Europe and the stars or ‘cracks’, as the French press call a top class trotter.
Europe’s greatest trotting race is started with a typically crazy volté start. The mobile starting gate is not used. Instead the runners mill around in a large paddock type enclosure three or four times bigger than a typical parade ring.
Once summoned on to the main track by the starter, the field fans out in a straight line with the horses on the outside often getting a flyer due to getting a longer stride.
With nearly €1 million at stake and no obvious allocation of starting positions it’s no surprise that false starts are common.
On the first of my two visits, the Italian star Varenne won in 2001 after a frustrating four false starts.
The 2020 edition is due off at 3pm tomorrow. The race should be shown on the Racing Channel and Le Trot Live website. The opening ceremony will rival that of any sporting event in the world. Last year featured a mock battle between cowboys and Indians and a display of Harley Davidson motorbikes, another sponsor.
Approximately €40 million will be staked on the race which is beamed to 36 countries.
Bold Eagle can soar highest in Prix D’Amerique
AT time of going to press last year’s fourth Davison Du Pont, who only turned six years old last January, is being talked up in Paris. He was an easy winner of the Prix de Bretagne in November when Jean Michele Bazire’s second string came home in the last 200 metres in a time equivalent below 1.48 for the mile on that occasion.
Dual winner Bold Eagle will be driven by usual partner Frank Nivard.
He was awesome at Mohawk, Canada in October over a distance short of his best. The Bold Eagle fan club will commandeer a 10-square metre patch above the winning line complete with scarves, banners and flags like football supporters.
Jean Michele Bazire has won Le Sulky D’Or (award for leading driver) 20 times. He is as good as ever and the image of ‘JMB’ and Belina Josselyn seems to have displaced Bold Eagle and driver in the publicity shots.
Belina Josselyn has a ground devouring stride and runs without the aid of an overcheck which is usually a sign of natural balance. She has been known to break as she can be a bit over eager.
That said, Bazire seems to have found the key to Belina Josselyn, letting her switch off early in her races.
The Swedish pair Propulsion and Ringo Starr Trebb would need the perfect trip to prevail.
My heart says Belina Josselyn but my head cannot forget the sight of Bold Eagle burning off all his challengers in Canada.
THE Irish Field photographer and professional equine artist Nadina Ironia was in Vincennes last weekend because she was asked to put on a small exhibition of her work (around 12 paintings) in the exclusive Club Uranie part of the complex.
Nadina, based in Balbriggan, has undertaken commissions of some of the great champions in French trotting. Originally from Estonia, the painter has a talent that has also covered show jumpers, hunters and racehorses.
Nadina gets to take in tomorrow’s big race and was also present for last week’s saddle equivalent, the Prix de Cornulier, won by favourite Bilibi.