On January 25th, Franck Nivard (on the right of the photo) will be competing in his 9th Prix d’Amérique. The Avranches-born driver can quite rightly pride himself on being the most efficient driver in the world trotting championships since the middle of the last decade, and he hasn’t missed a single edition since 2007.
Jean-Michel Bazire may well collect ‘’Sulkys d’Or’’ and Jos Verbeeck may well hold the record for the number of wins (4), but the Prix d’Amérique is now Franck Nivard’s race. The 35-year-old driver has already triumphed three times and been on the podium a total of five times, with a 62.5% coefficient of success in the two first! He was placed two years in a row with Kool du Caux (2007 and 2008) and transformed his attempt in 2009 by winning in great style with Meaulnes du Corta, thus strengthening his reputation as a catch driver. The same year, he crossed paths with the champion Ready Cash. Their long and fruitful collaboration, which ended on December 28th with the Prix de Bourgogne, led to them winning two Grand Prix d’Amériques and coming second in 2013 .
This year, for the first time, Franck Nivard will be hoping to enhance his track record as he takes on the dual role of trainer and driver. He will be racing with the recent Prix Ténor de Baune winner Vulcain de Vandel, his first winner at Group II level.
Franck Nivard’s Prix d’Amérique track record:
2007 – Kool du Caux – 2nd
2008 – Kool du Caux – 4th
2009 – Meaulnes du Corta – 1st
2010 – Quarla – Unplaced
2011 – Ready Cash – 1st
2012 – Ready Cash – 1st
2013 – Ready Cash – 2nd
2014 – Ready Cash – Disqualified
Vulcain de Vandel – Male, 6 years old
Driver: Franck Nivard
Trainer: Franck Nivard
Owner: Richard Cohen
10 wins including the Prix Ténor de Baune (11/01/2015)
