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Prix d’Amérique 2004
The Great Mystery around the preparation of Abano AS

A few days before the Prix de Belgique, which takes place at Vincennes racecourse on the 11th of January 2004, and which is the last preparatory test of the french classic series, the mystery about the conditions in which the german trotter will face this world trotting championship remains complete.
ABANO AS has actually been prepared for his great appearance as challenger in the Prix d'Amérique by the talented Erik Bondo at his headquarters at Appiano Gentile near Milan, and there are very few clues with which to judge his chances of victory this year. The son of DYLAN LOBELL has run two races in Italy in the last two months, thus revealing his management's decision to give complete freedom to the young Danish trainer.
ABANO AS was first presented in the Gran Premio delle Nazioni on the 1st of November at San Siro (Milan), where he didn't really give valid evidence about his chances of running at his best at Vincennes. On that day, the race went very badly.
Jamil Boukarabila, the well-known trotting-professional at all European racecourses analysed the case of the shock winner of the 2003 Prix d'Amérique (he won at 31-1): "Last year, I was very confident and betted on him especially for Jos Verbeeck's drive. This year things are different. In my humble opinion, he will be too fresh for the big race in January. Can you really prepare for such a big race with such a small number of trials during the year ?
What you can do with a VARENNE, you will not necessarily be able to do with a horse which is not two classes above his adversaries. No doubt ABANO AS is one of the best "free for all" in Europe but he doesn't dominate as only the greatest champions know how to."
Jamil Boukarabila was hence present during the Gran Premio delle Nazioni and he had this to say about the disappointing afternoon for ABANO AS's men: "frankly we have only been able to observe a few things. The horse came onto the track at a half canter and never really began trotting. He was tense (nervous) in the warming-up and in the heat and Jos Verbeeck probably tried not to put too much pressure on him by quick heats. But the going of the racetrack certainly didn't help him; because on that day the going was hard and not very compact. The horse gave the impression of being a bit stiff and not letting himself go. There was a false start and ABANO AS had begun correctly; on the restart (which takes place rather abruptly on the Milan racecourse) the horse began at a gallop and never recovered his trot quickly enough to get back into contact with race. It must however be said that the horse seemed to be in good condition: a very shining coat and supple powerful muscles. My impression was really that the horse was a bit fresh on the one hand, and that he didn't find himself on the track surface."
On the 26th of December, that's two months later, ABANO AS ran again in the GALA DEL TROTTO at the roman racecourse of Tor di Valle. It was a tactical race always under the control of Lutfi Kolgjini and his faithful REVENUE. ABANO AS had a bad starting number. He was never in the race, not being able to get back among the leaders when they broke away five hundred meters from the finish. It would have been necessary for ABANO AS to trot more than 500 meters in 1'04"-1'05", which was not within the capacity of a horse however good he was on the roman racecourse. We may think, however, that the race will have satisfied the horse's stable as the running of the test will have, without doubt, contributed to moving forward his preparation and will have got him back into condition a bit without him having had a hard race which probably constituted a priority for Jos Verbeeck.
Here is a horse which is to the liking of punters betting on good outsiders at interesting odds. Of course a victory of ABANO AS would not bring in as much this year but, even so, because of the good quality of competitors which from the class angle have no reason to fear ABANO AS, the odds could remain interesting. The next Prix de Belgique on sunday the 11th of January will be more than ever a decisive test. It will be a good bet that observers in the trotting world will have their binoculars trained on ABANO AS all through the race. If, on this day, the horse finishes five or six, he will have a good chance of doing something or even winning in the next 2004 Prix d'Amérique.
We have no doubt that Jos Verbeeck will be driving ABANO AS in the highest prized event. As KIWI has not been running well recently, we cannot see Jos giving preference to him about ABANO AS. The second choice of the champion catch-driver is more likely to be JEANBAT DU VIVIER or even ROYAL GULL if he was qualified (he also is running to get into peak condition), or even a style sensation: a last minute association with GENERAL DU POMMEAU who deserves to win another Prix d'Amérique to finally end his career as an exceptional champion of french trotting.