As the champions shape up for the 2015 Prix d’Amérique Opodo, the last of the Big Race preps will play out at Vincennes on Sunday, January 11th.
After the Prix de Bretagne, Bourbonnais and Bourgogne, the ‘4B’ series concludes with the Prix de Belgique which will be handing out the final points the first five in each qualifier receive. It is run over 2850m, with a 25m handicap for the richest. Amongst them, last year’s Amérique runner-up Up And Quick. Having just proven his return to form, the 2013 Critérium des 5 Ans winner will be logically one of the favourites on January 25th. He will be teaming up again with regular driver Jean-Michel Bazire who may well be the man of the day as he will also be driving Maven in the other qualifier, the Prix Ténor de Baune, which offers the winner a free ticket to the Big Race (just as the Critérium Continental did for Tumble Dust). But the American mare doesn’t need it to qualify, which is not the case for the likes of Viking de Val and Very Nice Marceaux who must win if they are to grab a hotly sough-after place on the Prix d’Amérique starting grid in 20 days’ time!
