Italian Urlo dei Venti wins Oslo Grand Prix
by Thomas Hedlund
The people behind Italian Lotteria winner Urlo dei Venti declined the invitation for the Elitlopp in the end of May, but the 5-year-old son of Mago d’Amore was back behind the gate when the Oslo Grand Prix was held Sunday (June 10) in Norway.
Before the race, most of the attention was on three of the most interesting trotters in Europe at the moment and Jerry Riordan’s International Trot winner Twister Bi got most of the trust from the bettors. But Twister Bi had a bad day and made an early break behind the gate and instead Italian Urlo dei Venti opened quickly for the lead for driver Enrico Bellei.
The 5-year-old, who won the Prix du Luxembourg in Paris and Gran Premio della Lotteria in Naples earlier this season, showed no mercy to his opponents. When Enrico Bellei asked for more action with a quarter to go in the 1.3-mile race, Urlo dei Venti flew away from the chasers and came home in mile rate 1:53.2 to earn $186,000.
“Everything worked perfect for the horse on this track and it became easier for us when Twister Bi disappeared early in the race. Urlo dei Venti is just a fantastic trotter and we aim for Prix d’Amérique next year”, said Enrico Bellei.
Norwegian Evil Enok M.E. finished strongly for the second place and Uza Josselyn did a great job as third in the race.
Harness racing in Italy is strong for the moment. On top of Urlo dei Venti’s big win in Oslo, trainer Alessandro Gocciadoro has had some great weeks in the northern countries in Europe the past month.
On the same day, the Gran Premio Unione Europea was scheduled in Naples, Italy and Gocciadoro was alone in the home stretch behind his Orsi Mangelli winner, 4-year-old Vitruvio (Adrian Chip) who won in mile rate 1:55.3 over 1.3 miles.
Vitruvio earned heavy $216,000 with the victory.
Giveitgasandgo sets record in Oslo
American-bred Giveitgasandgo (Yankee Glide) became the first trotter to note a kilometer time below 1.10 (approximately 1:52.3) at Bjerke racetrack in Oslo. The Frode Hamre trained 4-year-old won in 1:52.2 for Erik Adielsson in Fyraåringseliten. Adielsson aimed for the lead, got there and Giveitgasandgo sprinted away to an easy win worth $24,900. Giveitgasandgo won the same kind of race during the meeting of Elitloppet and there is no doubt about the horse’s qualities on 5/8 mile tracks in Europe. He is already at this point one of the most interesting trotters for the biggest races around the continent.
Coquin Bebe wins Energima Cup
French-bred Coquin Bebe (Rancho Gede) won elimination and final of Energima Cup in Oslo. Jorma Kontio got the opportunity to send the French horse to the lead in the final and when the pace was slow after the first quarter, Coquin Bebe had no problems to hold challenging King City on the outside in the home stretch. 1:55.3 is a moderate note and the reward was $37,500 in the final.
