There is no title won at a discount in sport. Winning a trophy regardless of the opposition proves the absentees wrong and the present right. At the trot, Astonishing and his trainer, Richard Westerink never shirk. From Vincennes, like yesterday on the occasion of the Prix d’Été (Gr. II), to Cagnes-sur-Mer last month, passing through Belgium in July before flying to the United States soon, the Dutch trainer and his champion meet all the challenges that come their way. “He who tries nothing has nothing,” says Richard Westerink with his eternal outspokenness. But he didn’t stop there and added just before the trophy ceremony: “There were good horses in the race but I regret that there are few people on the racecourse. On a Vincennes racetrack more populated in the main hall with exhibitors than in the stands, Astonishing put on a show on the track. “Who loves me follows me”, he could have declared as he showed superiority from one end to the other of the 2,700 m imposed. “When his driver, Anthony Barrier toughened up the race, I knew I was beaten”, concedes, fair play, Jean-Michel Bazire, yet second with Dorgos de Guez.
For his part, the driver of the winner was pleased with an improvement which does not concern the intrinsic quality of his partner. “He has become regular and is improving mentally, analyzes Anthony Barrier. Since no one wanted to go ahead, I didn’t mind being in the lead, and I was never worried. May it last, because I live a dream with him. The dream should thus continue across the Atlantic, as confirmed by Richard Westerink: “If he stays in shape, we will go to New York in October at the Yonkers racecourse, where we will try to do better than his father. , Timokosecond in 2015.”
The fervor, absent this Saturday in Vincennes, amazing should not be deprived of it in the United States before returning to try to conquer America… But in Paris this time, and that cannot be invented!