Today’s Quinte+ harness racing event of the day was the Prix du Cantal at Paris-Vincennes (purse 52,000€, 2850 meters, 2850 meters, 15 European starters).
The 1.12.2kr timed victory was earned by the 2.2/1 Valokaja Hindo (8m Great Challenger-Hindo Enghave) reined by trainer Jean Michel Bazire to his seventh win in 11 starts in France.
He is owned by Eirik Djuve of Norway and now has career earnings of 310,004€ with today’s win in which he overcame a 25 meter distance handicap.
The 2.7/1 Titanium Gar (7g Daguet Rapide-Lady Killer Gar) gamely held second for Hugo Langeweg Jr. and owner Stall Arend of Holland. The 23.3/1 outside Jerry Mom (6m Ready Cash-Graziella) was third with David Thomain up for trainer Luc Roelens and JPB Building BVBA of Belgium. This one is a brother to the exceptional Traders.
The top five was completed by two 25 meter penalized contestants, the 33.1/1 Brasil de Bailly for Alexandre Abrivard and 30.8/1 Cash du Rib with J.L.Cl. Dersoir up. The Q+ payoff for a 2€ ticket was 15,332.60€ and the total pool was 3,373,352€
Bazire scored again in the Prix de Guise (purse 56,000€, 2700 meters, 11 starters) with 2/1 Freyja du Pont (4f Quinoa du Gers-Parade du Pont) that he also trains for Ecurie Rayon.
Freyja won for the seventh time in 13 starts now for 109,650€ in life earnings. Race time was 1.14.7kr. 17.6/1 Fiorentina Somolli (4f Love You-Quitalia Somolli) rallied to be second with Matthieu Abrivard up for trainer Jerome Compas. Third went to 3.3/1 Fame And Fortune (4f Sam Bourbon-Ma Crown) with Yoann Lebourgeois up for owner/trainer Franck Nivard, who bought this mare from Jean Pierre Dubois at the Prix d’Amerique Sale.
A race later Jean Michel Bazire won his third of the day in the Prix de Grignes (purse 47,000€, 2850 meters, 13 European starters) driving 9/2 odds Enska (5f Coktail Jet-Polenska) that Emmanuel Ruault trains for Ecurie Comte P de Montesson.
Sunday’s Grand Prix de Paris lineup is now set with a 12 horse field led by the trotting queen Belina Josselyn (by Love You) and perhaps a chief rival Uza Josselyn (also a Love You mare), both eight years old and both substantial career euro earners.
by Thomas H. Hicks, for Harnesslink