Horse Racing Results

2010 Marionnaud Prix d’Amerique | Results and winner

Group I – International Event – Total earnings: € 1,000,000 – Harness racing. – 2,700 m (Long Track) – € 500,000 , € 250,000 , € 130,000 , € 60,000 , € 30,000 , € 20,000 , € 10,000 . Race for horses aged 4 to 10 included (initials S to M), except geldings, with life earnings of a minimum €160,000 , of which € 31,000 in harness racing since 1st January 2009 and who have competed in an event since 1st October 2009. Priority to run the Prix d’Amérique is granted to 2009 Critérium Continental and 2010 Prix du Ténor de Baune winners, as well as to the first 4 racehorses who qualified in the ranking by points at the end of the preliminary events.

89th Prix d’Amérique: an outstanding event. The 2nd start was the good one. Meaulnes du Corta, Quaker Jet and Nouba du Saptel started off very well, same for Oasis Gédé. However, it was soon over for Orlando Sport who was the first disqualified horse.

As the competitors pass the stands, Yves Dreux on  Nouba du Saptel’s sulky takes the lead and positions himself at the fence, followed by Meaulnes du Corta and Olga du Biwetz – Ghiaccio del Nord and Rolling d’Héripré come next.
In Joinville bend, Olga du Biwetz briefly takes the lead but is immediately taken over by Meaulnes du Corta. Rolling d’Héripré tries hard to remain in the leading pack, but this will do him no good for it owes him to be at the outside – all of a sudden, the spectators are struck numb as favorite of the race Ready Cash goes into gallop and is put out of the race.

1,200m from the finish, it is now Paris Haufor who goes on the attack at the outside. The racehorses go for the slope, then comes the crossing of racetracks and the leaders, i.e. Meaulnes du Corta, Olga du Biwetz and Rolling d’Héripré still keep their rivals at bay. As the competitors are going for the last bend, Paris Haufor finds himself in a difficult position as always for him at this moment of the race, same goes for Quarla who then gets stuck at the outside.
Also at the outside Russel November accelerates and seems likely to maintain his efforts – at the end of the last bend: Quaker Jet, in the middle of the racetrack, never far from the head of the race, manages to drag himself from the leading pack – Meaulnes du Corta accelerates and immediately forces Rolling d’Héripré to flirt with disqualification as he tries to keep up with the former.

Half way through the straightline, we have every reason to think that it is going to be a 4th Prix d’Amérique in a row for trainer Pierre Levesque, but Quaker Jet is increasingly present – and then at the outside, it is a pink jersey which literally swoops down his rivals. Oyonnax, who has been following Quaker Jet since the bottom of the slope, ends the race in a flash and edges out the other competitors at the post and outstandingly wins 2010 Prix d’Amérique.

Oyonnax with 173/1 odds, Quaker Jet with 108/1. Indeed we had not seen such odds at the finish post of a Prix d’Amérique for a long time, and I believe it last happened in 1979 when High Echelon won with odds close to 90/1, ahead of Ideal du Gazeau and Fakir du Vivier.

However, for us who saw the race from one of the panoramic restaurants of Vincennes racetrack, it was an extraordinary event, and the 40,000 spectators attending that day got their money’s worth with the other major events of the day and winners like Rombaldi in Camille Blaisot Prix.

Of course we regret that 5 year-old Ready Cash and Rolling d’Héripré could not make it to the finish, but the most perceptive of you realize how hard it is for young trotters to rival and defeat their elders in so selective and strenuous an event.

Looking at the time records, it comes to mind that it is the 3rd fastest record of all Prix d ’Amérique history – it is to be noted that Meaulnes du Corta ran at the same speed as in 2009, and that courageous Nouba du Saptel improved her record by one 10th second. We also wish to bring to your attention that we were among the first websites which released the Prix d’Amérique results live, only a few seconds after the finish. Let’s give it for 2010 Prix d’Amérique, and look forward to 2011 Prix d’Amérique!

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Find out more with Didier Barlogis trotters’ 2009 records.