THE 2023 Prix d’Amerique is shaping up to be a battle between the rising star, Eric Raffin (41) and the established master Jean Michele Bazire, 10 years his senior at 51.

Raffin has won the Sulky d’Or (Golden Sulky) for leading driver, for the last three seasons. ‘JMB’, as the adoring public call Bazire, had won the coveted award 20 times before Raffin broke through.