The 5-year-old French trotter Largo de Castelle, with Robbin Bot in the sulky, pulled off a huge upset when he won the Prijs der Giganten at Victoria Park near Wolvega in the Netherlands on Friday night (Nov. 13).
Largo de Castelle (by Golden Bridge) had not won a race since his 3-year-old season, but here he proved best in a photo finish, sending the Swedish-trained Readly Lavec and Killer Rain to second and third place.
Largo de Castelle paid 68-1 as the winner, and he added his name to a list of winners that includes top trotters such as Ideal du Gazeau, Madison Avenue, Grades Singing, Elitloppet winners such as Remington Crown and Hohneck, Diva Ek, and others.
The Prijs der Giganten has been raced since 1971 – for many years over the mile, but now over 1-5/16 miles.
Henk Grift-trained Largo de Castelle’s winning time was 1:55.4f (mile rate), and the first prize was 26,000 euros.