by Thomas Hedlund

Norwegian trainer and driver Frode Hamre dominated the $133,100 Oslo Grand Prix over 1.3 miles at Bjerke racetrack on Sunday (June 13) afternoon.

Hamre sat behind Bill’s Man and from post 1 behind the gate the duo kept the front position. The first half mile was tough for Bill’s Man. The pace was high and before the final lap, stablemate Ble du Gers (Quinoa du Gers) connected on the outside of the leader.

The high pace left its mark on Bill’s Man, who was beaten at the top of the stretch. Instead, Ble du Bers cruised to an easy win in a moderate mile rate of 1:56.3 for driver Åsbjörn Tengsareid.

Bill’s Man held strongly as runner up ahead of Dragster.

“My horses performed very well. I had some expectations ahead of the race and the outcome became better than I thought. I know that Ble du Gers is a tough horse when he’s on the outside of the leader and the hard opening for Bill’s Man was too much for him today,” said Hamre after the victory.

Top race in Finland

The $195,000 Kymi GP in Kouvola, Finland is on the European schedule this Saturday (June 19) with a post time of 5:45 PM (CET).

Kouvola has attracted many interesting trotters to the race this year and the big star of the event is French super mare Delia du Pommereux, who, among other victories, won the Paralympiatravet at Åby in May.

Kymi GP 2.100 meters

PP. Horse – Driver

1. Aetos Kronos – Magnus A Djuse
2. Grainfield Aiden – Hannu Korpi
3. Ce Bello Romain – Anthony Barrier
4. Valokaja Hindö – Nicolas Bazire
5. Mas Champ – Santtu Raitala
6. Willow Pride – Ari Moilanen
7. Next Direction – Iikka Nurmonen
8. Delia du Pommereux – David Thomain
9. Short In Cash – Björn Goop
10. Seismic Wave – Hannu Torvinen

Open story in Boden

Traditionally, the $192,000 Norrbottens Stora Pris in Boden in the northern part of Sweden, is scheduled this weekend and in the region where the sun never sleeps this time of the year, 10 horses will chase fame and glory over 1.3 miles. The race’s Saturday post time is 9:45 PM (CET).

Usually, it is a magical night for the fans. Yet, the COVID-19-situtation still restricts the number of spectators at Swedish racetracks so the hard core fans will have to wait at least another year before Norrbottens Stora Pris opens its gates for the broader public.

The race looks to be something extra this year. Horses such as Very Kronos, Wild Love, Moni Viking, Gareth Boko, Who’s Who and Vernissage Grif (who succeeded in Jämtlands Stora Pris last Saturday) make the event spectacular and it’s not an overstatement to say that we have an open story ahead of us on Saturday night.

Norrbottens Stora Pris 2.140 meters

PP. Horse – Driver

1. Antonio Trot- Ulf Ohlsson
2. Very Kronos – Erik Adielsson
3. Wild Love – Kevin Oscarsson
4. Moni Viking – Björn Goop
5. Gareth Boko – Mats E Djuse
6. Who’s Who – Örjan Kihlström
7. Vernissage Grif – Alessandro Gocciadoro
8. Upset Face – Per Linderoth
9. Milliondollarrhyme – Fredrik B Larsson
10. Zaccaria Bar – Mika Forss