Eighteen of the world's finest older trotters are set to clash in Sunday's (1/26) Group 1 Prix d'Amerique at Vincennes Racecourse in Paris. The Prix d'Amerique, which carries a purse of 1,000,000 Euros, goes from a standing start and is 2,700 meters (a mile and two-thirds) in distance. The horse to beat according to the market is defending champion Idao De Tillard. A 7-year-old stallion by Severino, Idao De Tillard didn't have a smooth lead-up to the race, though, as in three outings from September 21 to December 8 he suffered defeats in the Group 1 Grand Prix de Wallonie in Belgium, the Group 1 U.E.T. Elite Circuit Finale and the Group 2 Prix du Bourbonnais, with the last one being an especially dull eighth-place finish. However, he rebounded to capture the Group 2 Prix de Bourgogne on December 29 at Vincennes, which seems to have him back on track heading into Sunday. "Idao was ill in November. He had leptospirosis (a disease transmitted by rodents). I didn't notice it immediately. The horse lost weight," said trainer Thierry Duvaldestin. "Over the last month and a half he's been getting better, even though he's lost a bit of muscle mass. I think it still needs to be digested. "He's doing well. He worked mainly in the afternoon because in the morning it was too cold and the track was often frozen. He works when the temperatures are milder and there's a bit of sunshine. I think he's in good spirits now. I think that's behind us now." Idao De Tillard, who will be driven by Thierry's son Clément and is owned by Cyril Sevestre, will race barefoot on Sunday, which he did not do when he took last year's edition. ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter "We believe in him, but my horse isn't as strong as last year," Thierry Duvaldestin remarked. "The observers have seen that because he's been beaten several times this year. But the horse is still good. We should be fine." Thierry Duvaldestin has won back-to-back Prix d'Ameriques before as he took the race in 2011 and 2012 with Ready Cash, but other than hoping lightning can strike twice, he said the horses and circumstances are not the same. "It's never easy to compare horses. That was 13 years ago. It's both a long time ago and still recent," he quipped. "The horses are really different, they have opposite characters. I'd rather not compare. I'd like to do the double, but the Prix d'Amérique is so difficult that you have to be careful." Go On Boy, a 9-year-old Password stallion who will be piloted by trainer Romain Derieux, is one of the main threats to Idao De Tillard and came out on top when they met in both the Grand Prix de Wallonie and the U.E.T. Elite Circuit Finale. They locked horns again in the Prix de Bourgogne, but Go On Boy, who is owned by Ecurie Nixonn, had to settle for second that time as Idao De Tillard tracked his cover and then out-kicked him down the stretch. "So far so good for Go On Boy. He worked this morning (Tuesday) and everything was fine," Derieux said. "I'm pretty confident. I think he's got what it takes to win this race. It's how the race goes that will make the difference. Several horses can win and he's one of them." Like Idao De Tillard, Go On Boy is also taking the shoes off for Sunday, and that has already proven to be a big move for him. "That's the little extra compared to usual. It will be like his last victory in the final of the U.E.T. Elite Circuit," Derieux stated. "As far as race tactics are concerned, he can do anything. All we know is that he starts off slower than the others." Other horses in with a chance on Sunday are 2023 champion Hooker Berry for trainer/driver Nicolas Bazire and San Moteur, who will be sent out by trainer/driver Björn Goop. The Prix d'Amerique is race six on Sunday's program at Vincennes with local post time at 4:20 p.m. (10:20 a.m. EST). --quotes courtesy of LeTrot-- 2025 Prix d'Amerique field Head Number-Horse-Driver-Trainer 1-Iroise De La Noe-Thomas Levesque (same as driver) 2-Keep Going-Mathieu Mottier (same as driver) 3-Justin Bold-Pierre-Yves Verva-Jean-Rémi Delliaux 4-Fakir De Mahey-David Bekaert-Mathieu Mottier 5-Ideal Ligneries-Benjamin Rochard-Jean-Philippe Monclin 6-It’s A Dollarmaker-Matthieu Abrivard-Sébastien Guarato 7-Josh Power-Eric Raffin-Sébastien Ernault 8-Just Love You-Alexandre Abrivard-Laurent-Claude Abrivard 9-Inmarosa-Leo Abrivard-Laurent-Claude Abrivard 10-Dimitri Ferm-Gabriele Gelormini-Marco Azzaroni 11-Hussard Du Landret-Yoann Lebourgeois-Benoit Robin 12-Emeraude De Bais (Repeat Love)-Franck Nivard-Benjamin Goetz 13-San Moteur-Björn Goop (same as driver) 14-Don Fanucci Zet-Paul-Philippe Ploquin-Daniel Reden 15-Ampia Mede Sm-Vincenzo d'Alessandro Jr.-Erik Bondo 16-Go On Boy-Romain Derieux (same as driver) 17-Hooker Berry-Nicolas Bazire (same as driver) 18-Idao de Tillard-Clément Duvaldestin-Thierry Duvaldestin