Prix de la Cote d’Azur to Elsa de Belfonds

Today’s Prix de la Cote d’Azur (Gr. III International, purse 120,000€, 2900 meters distance handicap, 16 starters) at Cagnes sur Mer in France saw 3.7/1 Elsa de Belfonds (6f Tornado Bello-Talfa) score off a 25-meter handicap. She was away on the lead for trainer/driver Nicolas Ensch, then yielded to the pocket before escaping in the lane to draw clear.

Ecurie Thomas Levesque owns this now 11-time career winner for 353,690€ earned. Race time was 1.14.2kr. The 2.7/1 favorite and 50-meter handicapped Earl Simon (6m Prodigious-Tindrana) was a game second for Ecurie Skytten, trainer Jarmo Niskanen and pilot Franck Ouvrie.

The 31/1 Black d’Arjeanc (9g Prince d’Espace-Perle de Riviere), penalized 25 meters, was third with Eric Raffin up for trainer Nicolas Ensch. 50-meter handicapped Voltaire Gifont (6m Quaker Jet-Realm of Fancy) was fourth with trainer Pietro Gubellini up on this 88/1 outsider.

The 44/1 Beffe Am (9g Enjoy Lavec) was fifth for Franck Marty. This race was the Quinte+ race of the day and the exact order winning tickets paid 95,586.00€ to six recipients. The Q+ pool was 3,716,532€ and the total of all pools on this race exceeded 8,091,000€.

Yesterday at Cagnes sur Mer three year olds contested the Prix de la Cote Saint Andre (purse 18,000€, 2160 meters autostart) and it went to Hawai Island (3f Bold Eagle-Viva Island-Goetmals Wood-Island Dream) with Eric Raffin up for breeder/owner Jean Pierre Dubois and trainer Kevin Vanderschelden.

This was her second career victory and now she has earned 14,450€. Hidden Face (3f Brillantissime-Conquette A Deux) was second for trainer/driver Nicolas Ensch for Ecurie le Tremont. Jean Pierre Dubois also bred this one. Hers and Mine (3f Bold Eagle-A Nous Deux) was third for Loris Garcia at the lines for breeder/owner JBD and trainer Vanderschelden.

by Thomas H. Hicks, for Harnesslink