Five trotters crossed the finish line within half a length of each other in a dramatic finish won by Power in the UET Grand Prix at Vincennes in France when the heavy favorite, Ecurie D with Björn Goop, went off stride and thus disqualified and placed last.

Photo finish photo from UET Grand Prix at Vincennes. Photo courtesy of Vincennes Racetrack.

The judges had to call for a photo, that showed that Sweden’s Power with trainer/driver Robert Bergh had nosed out the French mare Green Grass with Mathieu Mottier to win.  They were followed by two other Swedish trotters, Buzz Mearas with Johan Untersteiner and Ateas Kronos with Ôrjan Kihlström.

Power, who is sired by GooGoo GaaGaa, got the winner’s purse of 200.000 Euros or $235,000. The win time was 1.54.2 (mile rate)

Going into the stretch, it looked as the 2-5 favorite Ecurie was going to win.

Ecurie D had been in command the whole trip. The second favorite, Gu d’Heripre with Franck Nivard from France, was second over but 200 yards from the finish, Gu d’Heripre suddenly went off stride, and surprisingly Ecurie D also tired and began pacing and went off stride.

The victory for Power was a new big success for GooGoo GaaGaa, who also is the sire of the Swedish Derby winner, Hail Mary, who is stablemate to Power.

It was a big night at Vincennes, where the European Championship for 3- and 5-yea- old trotters also were contested.  The home team won both races.

Three-year old Helgafell with Eric Raffin won very easy in 1.58.4 (mile rate) – Helgafell is sired by Charley du Noyer, whose sire is Ready Cash.

The Championship for 5-year-olds was won by the mare, Feerie Wood with Alexandre Abrivard in the bike. The time for the winner was 1.57.2 (mile rate).

The purse for the winners in the Championships was $52,000 (US). Feerie Wood is sired by Jag de Bellouet.