by Karsten Bonsdorf, USTA web newsroom correspondent

The prestigious French trotting race Criterium des 5 Ans was won in impressive style on Saturday (Aug. 31) by the outsider Up and Quick.

Up and Quick won in a new race record of 1:55.2 (mile rate); the distance in the race was no less than 3,000 meters or 1-7/16ths miles. Up and Quick broke the old record by nearly two full seconds.

Franck Nivard was in the bike behind Up and Quick, and it looked like he was on a mission, as he held a top tempo during the race. Nobody was able to follow Up and Quick, who won by open lengths.

The purse for the winner was $145,000.

Up and Quick is trained by Franc Leblanc and is a grandson to Royal Prestige, while his maternal line is purely French. Up and Quick has raced 35 times and has won eight races and earnings of $960,000. He has a mark of 1:52.1f, which he took at Solvalla, when he finished second in the Sweden Cup in late May.