by Thomas Hedlund

The 69th edition of $843,000 Gran Premio della Lotteria was held at Agnano racetrack in Naples, Italy on May 1.

Urlo dei Venti (Mago d’Amore), Arazi Boko (Varenne) and Trendy Ok (Varenne) won each of the three eliminations for the “Lotteria” and it was not a surprise that the fastest of the three winners, Urlo dei Venti (1:54 in his elimination) became the favorite in the final the same afternoon. Urlo dei Venti fullfilled the mission by winning from front position in the same time (1:54) as in the elimination.

Enrico Bellei has been among the top Italian drivers for many years and with Urlo dei Venti he collected his fourth victory in the race. Bellei has earlier been successful with Legendary Lover K, Wesgate Crown and Timone Ek and after this victory, he and owner Stefano Simonelli received a ticket for the Elitlopp at Solvalla later this month.

“Now we have to go home and take a stand regarding how we’re going to do with this invitation. This is of course a great thing for me. I’m just a small breeder and Urlo dei Venti always pays me back,” said Simonelli.

Urlo dei Venti won the Prix du Luxembourg in Paris in January and is one of the best Italian bred horses at the moment. Ringostarr Treb and Twister Bi are more merited so far, but Urlo dei Venti has the right qualifications to become a trotter for all the biggest races in Europe.

“The horse improves all the time and he manage to race on different tracks and distances. This victory was impressive,” said Bellei.

Lotteria Elimination 1

Lotteria Elimination 2

Lotteria Elimination 3

Lotteria Final

Field set for Finlandia-Ajo

Finlandia-Ajo at Vermo racetrack in Helsinki, Finland is scheduled for Saturday (May 5) and the mile race gives the winner an invitation to the Elitlopp.

Among the contenders, Uza Josselyn shows up with Swedish driver Erik Adielsson and the horse is already invited to the Elitlopp.

Horse – Driver
1. Pastore Bob – Johan Untersteiner
2. Heavy Sound – Kenneth Haugstad
3. Uza Josselyn – Erik Adielsson
4. Victory Bonsai – Marko Hakkarainen
5. Peace of Mind – Alessandro Gocciadoro
6. Midnight Hour – Ilkka Nurmonen
7. Billie de Montfort – Jorma Kontio
8. Regent Zet – Santtu Raitala
9. Dijon – Romain Derieux
10. Makethemark – Mika Forss

Big races in Paris

There is a card at Vincennes in Paris on Saturday and several high-class races are on the schedule. Bird Parker and Belina Josselyn, two of the most outstanding horses during the winter meeting in France this season, will battle in the $143,000 Prix Kerjacques.
The best 4-year-olds in France meet in Criterium des 4 ans ($263.000) over 1.8 miles and the Franck Leblanc-trained crop dominant Erminig d’Oliviere (Scipion du Goutier) will chase 14 opponents.