by Thomas Hedlund

Thomas Levesque’s Iroise de la Noe (Tornado Bello) entered Sunday’s (Jan. 12) $125,000 Prix de Belgique as the least merited trotter chasing a spot in Prix d’Amérique 2025. But money earned doesn’t count when horses race; Iroise de la Noe was the well-deserved winner when it all was summed up.

A three-wide opening didn’t bother Iroise de la Noe, who overtook the lead from Ideal Ligneries with a mile to go in the 2,850-meter long race, and once in front, Levesque’s trotter was too hard to beat. The 7-year-old mare won in a mile rate of 1:56 over 1.7 miles and behind her, two additional names were ensured for the Prix d’Amérique: Ideal Ligneries followed as runner up ahead of great finisher Hooker Berry (ready for the PdA since the first B-race) and Prix de Belgique-favorite It’s A Dollarmaker.

Replay here.

This result means that there are some places left for horses with a high level of earnings and the ones that already now are set for Prix d’Amérique (if the connections surrounding the horses want to enter, respectively) are: Ampia Mede Sm, Don Fanucci Zet, Inmarosa and Kana de Beylev.

As it looks right now, all four horses will enter the Prix d’Amérique since Koctel du Dain, who has enough earnings for the race, will participate in the $320,000 Prix Bold Eagle for 5-year-olds on Prix d’Amérique Day.

Inmarosa could be the horse that will be left outside of the 18-horse field on Jan. 26. It all depends on whether Keep Going will race or not. Keep Going qualified for the PdA when he won the Criterium Continental on Dec. 22 and it’s not completely certain if he will try the toughest race in Paris this year. He might very well opt for the Prix Bold Eagle, just like Koctel du Dain.

And speaking of Koctel du Dain (Boccador de Simm), Philippe Allaire’s 5-year-old was one of the most dominating horses in the French K-crop as a 3- and 4-year-old, but even if solid performances have been delivered by Allaire’s trotter, Koctel du Dain hadn’t won since May 11, 2023 before Saturday’s (Jan. 11) $125,000 Prix de Croix.

David Thomain steered the 5-year-old Allaire trained colt to the lead at an early stage and as Thomain used the tactics of increasing the pace after the first half mile, the opponents faced hard tasks chasing the leading favorite.

Koctel du Dain sprinted to a safe win in a mile rate of 1:57 over 1.7 miles and, as mentioned earlier, the next objective will be the Prix Bold Eagle on Jan 26.

Sunday (Jan. 19) is the day when the world’s biggest monté race is scheduled on the Vincennes race card. The $750,000 Prix de Cornulier at over 2,700 meters has the runner-up from 2022 and 2023, Granvillaise Bleue looks to be the event’s most merited horse as 18 trotters were still in the race on Wednesday night.

ERIK ADIELSSON RETIRES

One of Europe’s most successful drivers in history, Erik Adielsson, 50, announced on Tuesday (Jan. 14) that he is retiring as a driver.

Adielsson has been prominent in the harness racing business since he was 18 years old. In just his third season as a driver, he drove Easy Lover in the Hambletonian at The Meadowlands.

Since the mid 1990s, Adielsson has been among the top European drivers and his track record is impressive. His four wins in the Swedish Derby is some of his best work.

Adielsson will now enter “the other side” of the industry. He will begin his work as head of judges for harness racing in Sweden, which is an occupation that will suit him well. Adielsson is well known for his ability to look at different racing situations with clear and impartial eyes and his new role will be very interesting to follow.