by Karsten Bønsdorf, USTA Newsroom Senior Correspondent
Nuncio raced Wednesday night (Aug. 17) at his hometrack, Solvalla, for the first time since his win in the Elitlopp late May. Driven by Ôrjan Kihlström, Nuncio went to the post as the 3-10 favorite in the Jubilee Trophy over the 1-5/16th mile distance and with a purse of $120,000 for the winner.
Nuncio fulfilled the expectations, winning as easy as usual in a new Swedish record of 1:53.4f (mile rate). This was the seventh victory for Nuncio from nine starts. This year he has earned $690,000, bringing his life time earnings to $2.85 million.
The race had several North American bred trotters in the lineup. Second to Nuncio was Explosive De Vie, driven by Kevin Oscarsson, beaten 1-1/2 lengths followed by Fire To The Rain, driven by Ulf Ohlsson.
Another North American trotter, French Laundry (stablemate to Nuncio), won the Big Noon Trophy over the mile with a standing start. French Laundry, driven by Ôrjan Kihlström, had to trail the field by 20 meters, but was able to win in a new Swedish record of 1:55.2f. The purse for the winner was $25,000.
On the same card the European Championship for mares was raced. The race became a duel between Some Summit of Sweden, driven by Jörgen Sjunnesson, and Anna Mix of France, driven by Erik Adielsson. Down the stretch it looked as though Some Summit was going to win, but Adielsson found an extra gear in Anna Mix and she came close, but past the post it was impossible to see who had won. The judges called for a photo, and that showed that Anna Mix had won by a nose.
Anna Mix got a very tough race as she was parked out without cover the whole trip; in fact she was forced to go four- and three-wide in the beginning of the race, Anna Mix, who is owned by one of the leading trainers in France, Franck Leblanc, is now trained in Sweden by Sofia Aronsson. Leblanc decided to transfer Anna Mix to Sweden after she had refused to race on several occasions in France, where most of the races are with a standing start. In Scandinavia the races for top trotters are mostly started behind the gate and that obviously suits Anna Mix well.
Anna Mix was timed in the 1-5/16th mile event in 1:55f (mile rate). The purse for the winner was $100,000.