April 19, 2019 – Tomorrow’s Enghien-Soisy harness racing headliner is the Gr. I International UET Master Series’ Prix de l’Atlantique to be raced over 2150 meters autostart.
Now, 11 horses will be at the start. Presumed favorite Bold Eagle has been scratched.
The Jean-Michel Bazire trainee Looking Superb (starting from second tier post 11 based on career earnings) along with the top performing Dijon with trainer Romain Derieux the pilot from post six (now in one slot) are likely to be in the hunt.
Comments from the connections of Bold Eagle follow:
“The announcement was made on Friday night on Equidia: Bold Eagle will not participate in the Prix de l'atlantic Casino Barrière Enghien-les-Bains, his last blood test having revealed a white blood cell count too high. Thomas Bernereau, co-owner of the winner of two Grand Prix of America, said on Equidia: "the horse was very well at work but by acquired conscience, so as not to repeat the scheme of Cagnes, we realized this blood sample that revealed this rate very high. The vet is thinking of a viral episode. We prefer to abstain and then we will see if we go on the Prix of the Dukes of Normandy or the Prix René Ballière. In fact, we decided to put this protocol of blood before any potential race.”
The Enghien card remains sensational with other races including Face Time Bourbon, Fleche Bourbon, Ferreteria and Orlando Jet among a host of top tier trotteurs.
In the days ahead (April 25) in Italy will be the Gran Premio Nazionale and its Filly Division counterpart. The lineups for these prestigious events are shown below. Axl Rose is a likely favorite in the open.
Thomas H. Hicks