This Sunday, the Critérium Continental will offer its winner an entrance ticket to the Prix d’Amérique Opodo 2015. The Critérium Continental is a high-level competition reserved for 4-year-old trotters and the third qualifying race of the meeting, but what differentiates it from the other two is the fact that it offers a direct qualification, whereas the Prix de Bretagne and Prix du Bourbonnais offer the chance to win points in a four-stage tournament. Since 2005, the year when the race first began to offer this privilege, the entrance ticket has often been taken up and the challenge accepted by the winners. However, only one champion has ever been crowned a month later in the Prix d’Amérique, and that was Offshore Dream, winner of the World Trotting Drivers Championship in 2007.
This year there is another incredible line-up – despite the absence of the best Scandinavian contenders – featuring the four best French trotters born in 2010. The inseparable Aladin d’Ecajeul, Akim du Cap Vert and Athos des Elfes will be grappling for the prize once again, while Amiral Sacha will be looking to put the stamp of approval onto the immense progress he has been making. The stakes are high and the race is shaping up to be an exciting one!
Critérium Continental, Sunday 21st December, Paris-Vincennes
