Fans of international trotting looking forward to the dream match-up of Bold Eagle vs. Nuncio will have to wait a little longer.
Reports from Sweden indicate that Nuncio will not be entered in the 2017 Prix d'Amerique. Trainer/owner Stefan Melander pointed to a fever Nuncio had in early December that threw off the horse and his training schedule.
"I sat down and thought and concluded that it is wrong for the horse to start in Paris," Melander told Expressen in his native Swedish tongue. "Nuncio has been training well, but the last week of severe weather means that it will not be optimal now either, so we refrain [from racing in the Prix d'Amerique this] year."
One of the world's most dominant racehorses over the last two years, Nuncio ran the table in 2016 going unbeaten in 11 starts. In his two seasons of racing in Europe since concluding his three-year-old season in North America, the son of Andover Hall - Nicole Isabelle has won 21 of 24 starts and has yet to finish worse than third in his 51-race career.
Melander told Expressen that Nuncio will now be pointed toward defending his Elitlopp title this coming May.