IMPERIOUS EAGLE

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IMPERIOUS EAGLE
BOLD EAGLE claimed his
place in the Prix d’Amerique with an imperious
demolition of the Criterium Continental field at
Vincennes on Sunday.
Franck Nivard took Bold
Eagle to the lead as the field
for the €240,000 Group I
classic featuring Europe’s
top 4YOs, turned out of the
Joinville straight and he dictated terms from there.
Criterium des 4 Ans winner Bird Parker (like Bold
Eagle a son of Ready Cash)
loomed up to sit parked as
they rounded the final bend
but Bold Eagle shrugged him
off as he accelerated in the
straight.
Nivard waved to the crowd
as Bold Eagle cruised to the
line untouched, with Fabrice
Solouy’s newest find, Specialess (Ganymede) pipping
Bird Parker for second place.
The win only confirmed
Bold Eagle’s favouritism for
the Prix d’Amerique, a remarkable feat for a rising
5YO.
It was his ninth win for
2015, his only failure being in the final lead-up race
to the Criterium des 4 Ans,
THE ROAD TO THE PRIX D’AMERIQUE
Franck Nivard waves as Bold Eagle coasts to the line in the Criterium Continental.
where he was found to be
suffering a virus which prevented his participation in
the blue riband event.
Indeed that was his only
loss in 18 starts since turning three and he as now won
18 of 21 lifetime for earnings
€2300 shy of €1,000,000.
The second Group I of the
day was the monte Prix de
Vincennes, the 3YO classic.
It went to heavy favourite
Cassandre d’Em, a lightly
raced daughter of former
Prix d’Amerique winner Kesaco Phedo who has been
unbeaten since turning to
monte five starts ago.
Trained by Jean Pierre Allix
and ridden by top jockey
Yoann Lebourgeois, Cassandre d’Em was soon in front
and set a torrid pace which
proved too much for all but
Caline des Plages (Scipion du Goutier) with Franck
Nivard aboard, who stayed
near but could get no closer
than two lengths, which was
the margin at the finish. Candela
(First de Retz) was
a distant third.
The other Group race on
the day, also a monte, was
the Prix Emile Riotteau for
4YOs which went to Launrent Claude Abrivard’s Bilibil
(Niky) who just outstayed
Best of Jets (Magnificient
Rodney), to win in 1’14”2
(1.59) for the 2700m trip.
Allaire’s double juvenile victory
Philippe Allaire proved the
master of 2YO trainers with
a double in the blue riband
events for the age group
over the weekend, and in the
process picking up the Prix
Une de Mai trophy for the
first time with Don’t Explain.
The runner-up in the event
the previous three years and
with three leading hopes
in this year’s event, it was
Allaire’s Demonia Roma
(Password) who led the field
from the start and dictated
terms out front.
Allaire’s Deep Purple went
off stride early in the race
and was disqualified but
Don’t Explain (Prodigious)
with Mathieu Abrivard on
board was prominent early
and got cover behind legendary horseman Jean Pierre
Dubois’ entrant Dista Love
as the field went up the hill.
Demonia Roma was still
in charge at the turn into the
straight, but Don’t Explain,
who was forced to go three
wide had the gas in the tank
and the momentum to win
the charge for the line as
Franck Anne’s Deese du
LOVE YOU
BOLERO LOVE (4th Group I
1’10”9/2100m Vincennes)
COURTLY LOVE (Winner
2925m Cagnes-Sur-Mer)
VIOLET (Winner 2875m Cabourg) VIVALDO BELLO (2nd
2650m Bordeaux) USE ME
MORE (3rd 2925m CagnesSur-Mer) CAP MATYSS (2nd
1.13”3/2100m Vincennes)
BALLERINE DU CAPRE (3rd
2125m Cordemais) CRAZY
LOVE GES (3rd 2825m
Cordemais)
The winning connections of Django Riff.
Geuron (Melchior Jet) headed a game Demonia Roma
for second.
The Prix Emmaneul
Margouty was a cake walk
for outstanding Ready Cash
colt Django Riff. Taking over
the lead on the front straight
the first time, Django Riff set
terms to suit.
He had a two length lead
at the turn and coasted
clear, winning by 5 lengths
from two sons of new sire
SAM BOURBON
BERING (Winner 2925m
Cagnes-Sur-Mer) BIG LOVE
(Winner 2875m Cabourg)
ORLANDO VICI
AMBASSADEUR D’AM (Winner 2925m Cagnes-Sur-Mer)
URLANDO D’OR (Winner
2000m Bordeaux) URLANDO
BEJI (Winner 2675m Bordeaux) URLANDO D’OR (2nd
2100m Vincennes)
UNO DES YEDRAG (3rd
2875m Argentan) VULCAIN
DE CORBERY (3rd 2825m
GERARD FORNI
Tucson, Derick de Nganda
and Ducson Imperial.
The Group II Prix Jules
Lemonnier went to Mathieu
Mottier on Texas de l’Iton,
who found a narrow gap in
the straight between Aladin
d’Ecajeul (in his monte
debut) and Swedish star
Moving On and outfinished
pacesetting superstar mare
Roxane Griff, who as usual
went to the outside rail.
It was the final race for Rox-
Pontchateau)
QUAKER JET
DIRECT WAY (Winner 2850m
Cabourg) LASS DE BANVILLE
(Winner 2925m CagnesSur-Mer) CLASSE VOIRONS
(2nd 2850m Vincennes)
COSAQUE DE MONCHEL
(2nd 2875m Cabourg)
READY CASH
BOLD EAGLE (Winner Group
I 1’10”5/2100m Vincennes)
BIRD PARKER (3rd Group I
1’10”8/2100m Vincennes)
Django Riff (Winner Group
ane Griff, who retires at the
compulsory age of 10 with
21 victories and earnings of
€3,107,618,
FRENCH FACT
The recently retired French
R generation (foaled 2005)
was widely regarded as one
of the two best of all time.
Its graduates won three
Prix d’Amerique through
Ready Cash (4.28M), and
Royal Dream (1.59M) who
both also won the Group I
Prix de Paris as did Roxane
Griff (3.1M) who also won
the monte world championship, Prix de Cornulier.
Ready Cash won the Criterium des 3 Ans, with Rolling
d’Heripre (Cri 4 Ans) and Roc
Meslois (Crit 5 Ans) and all
three have been successful
at stud as have a host of
other group winners including Repeat Love, Reissec,
Rombaldi, Rocklyn, Real de
Lou and Rodrigo Jet.
Barred from the classic
events, outstanding millionaire geldings Roi du Lupin
(2.2M) and Rapide Lebel
(1.8M) won major Group
races at home and abroad.
II 1’14”4/2150m Vincennes) AFILITOSA (Winner
2425m Montauban) AURA
NORMANDE (3rd 2200m
Vincennes) CARLOTTA (3rd
2850m Vincennes)
REPEAT LOVE
CRESTA ROSSA (Winner
2175m Vincennes) BOAVISTA
(Winner 2900m Argentan)
DERBY DU PADOUENG (2nd
2400m Montauban)
MILE RATE CONVERSION:
2.00 =1’14”6, 1.57=1’12”7,
1.54=1’10”8, 1.51= 1’09.
Norwegian star Lionel made Europe’s top 5YOs look decidedely ordinary in the Prix Tenor de Baune, with a resounding win which also booked a place in the Prix d’Amerique.
Franck Nivard settled the son of French stallion Look de
Star at the back of the peleton initially, before working
forward up the hill and was within a length of pacesetter
Call Me Keeper as they crossed the rise. By the turn he
was level, and when Franck Nivard pressed the go button
he coasted clear, not breaking sweat to win by six lengths
from Italian-bred Robert Bi (who won this year’s European
5YO Championship) and Akim du Cap Vert, a former Criterium des 4 Ans winner, who has already qualified for the PDA
as the winner of the Prix de Bretagne.
It was Lionel’s seventh win in a row, since joining Fabrice
Solouy’s international brigade after running fifth in the Norwegian Derby last year. Lionel made his French debut the
day before last January’s Prix d’Amerique, in a €50,000
European eligible race at Vincennes, where he ran second
to Call Me Keeper, and third to Ave Avis five days later both many lengths behind him in the Prix Tenor de Baune
and the latter the winner of this year’s Criterium des 5 Ans.
Lionel won nine of his 14 starts in 2015, the last seven in
a row, and the last four wins have been at Group II level.
All but one of his wins being with Franck Nivard in the bike.
Any other year and Lionel would be hailed the bright new
star and would be basking in the adulation of the sport’s
fans and media.
But Solouy’s star pupil has had the misfortune to run at a
time a once in a generation champion has been eclipsing
all other performances, and he did so again on Saturday,
in the very next race.
And Criterium Continental winner Bold Eagle will also have
Franck Nivard in his corner when the two meet for the first
time at the Prix d’Amerique.
Lionel is yet another feather in the cap for the ambitious
Norwegian breeding programme which also produced the
winner of the International Trot, Papagayo E who is also
by a French stallion out of a mare of American bloodlines.
Date
Race
Distance
purse
Nov 21 Px de Bretagne (4-9) 2770
€120,000
Winner: Akim du Cap Vert (Franck Anne)
Dec 13 Px du Bourbonnais (4-9) 2850
€120,000
Winner: Un Mec d’Heripre (Fabrice Solouy)
Jan 3
Px de Bourgogne (4-10) 2100
€120,000
Jan 17
Px de Belgique (4-10) 2850
€120,000
Points table
(Top six qualify Prix d’Amerique)
Akim du Cap Vert 12, Un Mec d’Heripre 12, Village Mystic
8, Anna Mix 6, Moses Rob, Texas Charm 2, Solea Rivelliere
2, Vision Intense.
Winner only has direct qualification
Dec 27 Criterium Continental (4YO) 2100
€240,000
Winner: Bold Eagle (Sebastien Guarato)
Dec 27 Prix Tenor de Baune (5YO) 2700
€120,000
Winner: Lionel (Fabrice Solouy, pictured below)
SWEDEN
A patient drive by Johnny
Tackter got On Track Piraten
up in the last few strides to
win the last V75 Gold Division
final of the year, the Group II
Gert Lindbers lopp at Solvalla on Boxing Day. Takter bided his time at the tail of the
running line, moving up three
wide outside Bjorn Goop
on Thai Broadway down the
backstraight the final time.
Goop made a break for it at
the turn and was leading by
two lengths halfway down the
straight, but On Track Piraten
got him on the line, with Royal Fighter (Varenne) third.
ITALY
Harri Rantanen’s Ororpuro
Bar showed great toughness
to beat a high class field in
the Group I Gala Internazionale del Trotto at Rome’s
Capannelle racetrack on Boxing Day. Driven by Vincenzo
P Dell’Annunziata, the Love
You entire fought off a determined bid by Rania Lest,
who eventually broke after a
200m duel. Oropuro Bar set
a stiff tempo and had a two
length lead into the straight
but he tired in the last 100m
and had just enough in the
tank to hold off the swoopers
Radiofreccia Fi (Ganymede)
and Pacha dei Greppi (Juliano Star).The time of 1’12”8
was just .2s outside the race
record.