Hooker Berry and Havanaise the top stars

Paris-Vincennes, Thursday 24 February: There was little attendance for today`s main event at Vincennes, the Group 3 Prix de Nevers (3rd race/15.00/90,000 euros/2850m.) Just seven horses of 2017 vintage were left standing at the last scratch, although the fixture is open upwards to all winning classes.

A deterrent for some horses was certainly the fact that Hooker Berry (Jean-Michel Bazire) and Havanaise (Franck Nivard), two of the current best five-year-olds, were included. In the Sulky World Cup 5 Ans (Group 1) on the day of the Prix d`Amérique, the two exceptional trotters had a great fight for the victory, which the mare won by a narrow margin. Hooker Berry later won the Prix Ovide Moulinet (Group 2) against Hohneck, who finished fifth in the `Amérique`, and Hokkaido Jiel (Alexandre Abrivard), who brought the latter two to their knees in the Prix Jules Thibault. Huwaga (Nicolas Bazire) continued to improve in fifth place in the World Cup. Haribo du Loisir (Leo Abrivard) has earned his money one level lower so far, but is also expected to be up front against the top-class horses. Heros de Fleur (Aurelien Prat) is at home in the saddle business and, like the fresh `C` winner, is only one of the outsiders.