Bold Eagle his new assignment

This Saturday an interesting group one race is scheduled. And by interesting I mean the biggest group 1 race at Enghien, the Grand Prix d l’Atlantique. With starters as the already confirmed Elitloppet starter Dijon, Bold Eagle and Uza Josselyn. Uza Josselyn will also try to get an invite to the famous Elitloppet in the upcoming month. For Bold Eagle this race might be all or nothing in a very literal way.

Bold Eagle, with, for the first time in a race, Björn Goop in the bike, for many people still the favourite in this race. He has struggled a lot the past months, if not year. His performances are nowhere the same comparing to a few years ago and a lot of people think he might be done with his ‘job’, mentally speaking. Will Goop be able to tell what the problem is, will he find the horse and bring him to another victory, which will be his 19th group 1 victory? Or will this be the very last we see of the legendary ‘Bold’? These might be the key questions heading up to this race and I’m very, very interested to see what happens and what the decisions will be made after the race.

Having said what a lot will be thinking, I’ve to confess Bold Eagle is not my favourite here. To me Dijon has been absolutley exceptional in his last races and is getting his head in the game more and more. With number 6 behind the gate he’s quite a nice number and I expect they will not hesitate to try to take the lead: where he performs best. Dijon has incredible gate and finish speed and when he doesn’t gallop he’s about sure of a top three classification. In his last performances at Enghien he finished first (Prix Dominique Savary, beating Delia du Pommereux) and second (Prix de Washington, 1’09’2 behind Uza Josselyn. Note, Dijon number 12, Uza number 5 behind gate)

The choice for second favourite is quite impossible. Both Uza Josselyn and Bold Eagle interest me here for different reasons. Uza Josselyn drew number 1 behind the gate which is a huge, I repeat HUGE advantage for this mare. Enghien is a good track to start from the inside and take the lead (as example, Timoko in Prix de Washington 2017). Uza Josselyn might be the fastest behind the gate when asked so I see no problems here. Could decide to give Dijon the lead to travel on a perfect back during the race. Has great finish speed and is in top notch shape, should be in top three.

Bold Eagle, the horse where all the eyes will be on.. As I mentioned earlier I’ve doubts on his shape. The flat track of Cagnes sur Mer didn’t do the trick we all hoped for. But, a big plus here is the driver change. Björn Goop will take a seat behind The Eagle and I’ve no doubt in mind this might be exactly what Bold Eagle needs. I suspect Goop will decide to start calm: even with number 5 behind the gate I think he wants to see Bold Eagle from the position he used to race best from: midfield to attack in the last stretch. This means Uza Josselyn and Dijon have free game at the start but will not be safe for one second in the last part of the race.
When Bold Eagle is in his right shape and mind I doubt he’ll get beaten here. Should never be underestimated but needs a race that fits him (No death seat for example).

Moving on, Traders is incredibly interesting. He had a close to perfect prepare in his last race and could perform above some expectations. Needs to race in attack mode rather than speed mode. Would like to see him from the lead here but do not see that happening. Could also be the perfect back for Bold Eagle. Has shown us before he can beat the best.

After the Grand Prix d’Amérique Looking Superb has not been able to reach that same incredible level. Hasn’t impressed me much but ran race after race a good race and used his speed well. Didn’t win the drawing but could choose for any back he wants, either Dijon or Bold Eagle sounds like logical options. With Bazire in the bike there’s no way leaving this horse out of the preview. Expect a nice performance.

Tessy d’Ete is a nice outsider. Tessy d’Ete is in great shape and actually ran 1’10’3 (!) over 2100m at Vincennes earlier this year. Accompanied with the driver she’s best with, Franck Nivard, she could cause an upset, probably for first three.