The 9-year-old French mare Billie de Montfort is a tough lady and has raced on the highest level since she was a 3-year-old. Monday afternoon (Dec. 7), Billie de Montfort, with Gabriele Gelormini in the bike, won the prestigious Gran Premio Delle Nazioni at the La Maura track in Milan.

The top Italian trotter and former winner of the International Trot at Yonkers, Zacon Gio, was in command until 600 meters to go, where he ran out of gas. Instead, Gelormini made his move, and nobody was able to follow Billie de Montfort, who posted her first victory in 2020 easily. Billie de Montfort was timed in 1:574f (mile rate) and picked up the winner’s purse of $140,000.

She has now won $2.8 million in her career. She has raced 115 times and won 20 races. Billie de Montfort, who is trained by Sebastian Guarato, is sired by the French sire Jasmin de Flore.

Norwegian trotter Chief Orlando (sired by Orlando Vici) was second and Danish trotter Valakaja Hindö (sired by Great Challenger) was third.