Harness: Davidson du Pont a Prix d'Amerique bridesmaid no more

Davidson du Pont, the second-place finisher to Face Time Bourbon the last two years, won Sunday's Prix d'Amerique at Vincennes Racecourse in Paris after a thrilling stretch rally that saw him chase down leader Galius at the wire.

Billie de Montfort (Pierre-Yves Verva) and Feydeau Seven (Jean-Michel Bazire) got away best from the standing start, but Power (Robert Bergh) came with a four-wide sweep that carried him into the lead with about 2,100 meters to go in the 2,700 meter event. Davidson du Pont (Nicolas Bazire) and Galius (Yoann Lebourgeois) then made their moves toward the front, with Galius taking command and Davidson du Pont sliding into the pocket with around 1,700 meters left in the event.

Race favorite Etonnant (Anthony Barrier) had been stalking and tracking all those moves near the pace on the outside, and then Barrier pushed Etonnant forward to hit the front with about 900 meters left. Galius briefly waited in the pocket after yielding, then attacked Etonnant and was able to take over the top spot again on the far turn, leaving Davidson du Pont and Etonnant behind as he opened up an advantage.

In the lane it looked like Galius was home free, but Davidson du Pont, who went back to the inside in the loose pocket off the bend, tipped out and had enough trot to rally past Galius at the wire and win by a narrow margin. The final time was 1'11"3 (mile rate between 1:54 3/5 and 1:54 4/5). Galius, who was the first Prix d'Amerique starter trained by a woman (Severine Raymond), had to settle for second, and Flamme de Goutier (Theo Duvaldestin) was the third-place finisher.

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"This is the best day of my life, and the horse of my life," remarked Nicolas Bazire.

A 9-year-old son of Pacha du Pont, Davidson du Pont is owned by breeder Ecurie Albert Rayon. He went over the two million Euro mark in his career with the victory. A 17-time winner, Davidson du Pont is also trained by Nicolas Bazire, the son of Jean-Michel Bazire, a four-time winner of the Prix d'Amerique.

"It's the culmination and moreover with Nicolas...it's the holy grail," said owner Jean-Yves Rayon, who is also Nicolas Bazire's grandfather.