Although he was the youngest trotter of the 18-runner field, Bold Eagle (Franck Nivard) proved he was undeniably boss in the 95th Opodo Prix d’Amérique. Sent off odds-on favourite on the back of his 20 career-wins combined with crushing victories in the Critérium Continental and Prix de Belgique (two of the six-race #opodoraces qualifiers), the son of dual Amérique-winner Ready Cash took command 1,500 meters out and never looked back, strongly staving off the challenges one by one. Even Up And Quick could never get on terms, finally ending up unplaced. Timoko (Björn Goop), however, had a great trip in the pocket behind the winner and took second spot – his best result in 5 Big Race bids – while Oasis Bi and Pierre Vercruysse grabbed third.
Displaying an awesome show of force in front of a roaring crowd of 35,648 racegoers, Bold Eagle set both a new race and 2,700-metre track record by clocking 1’11’’4/km. In the process, driver Franck Nivard became co-record holder as the most prolific Big Race driver in activity with four wins, following previous triumphs on Meaulnes du Corta (2009) and Ready Cash (2011-12).
On the other hand, it was not only a first for handler Sébastien Guarato, who was just lacking the Prix d’Amérique on his long list of impressive Vincennes trophies, but also for owner and former amateur driver Pierre Pilarski who knows what it means to compete.
