by Karsten Bonsdorf, USTA web newsroom correspondent
What a weekend for the Finnish-born, Swedish-based trainer Timo Nurmos. On Saturday he trained the first two past the post in the Finnish Trotting Derby and on Sunday afternoon, he trained the winner, third and fourth place finishers in the Swedish Trotting Derby.
Nurmos trains 16 4-year old trotters. Seven of them qualified for the finals in the Finnish Trotting Derby and the Swedish Trotting Derby and six of them returned to the stable with a check.
While Seabiscuit, who won the Finnish Derby, was heavily favored to win, Beau Mec, who won the Swedish Derby, was an outsider at 10-1. Beau Mec, with Torbjörn Jansson in the bike, is a strong trotter, who didn’t mind having to trot outside leading stablemate Aga Khan Boko with Erik Adielsson most of the trip.
Beau Mec got the better of Aga Kham Boko with 100 yards to go and was able to hold off a late charge from Deuxime Piscous with Johnny Takter to win by a head. The first three trotters past the post were timed in 1:58.2f (mile rate). The purse for the winner was $250,000.
Beau Mec is sired by the French sire Jag de Bellouet — “the cannibal” — who was a champion at the tracks some years ago and out of the Swedish mare Extreme Lady, she by Meadow Gallant. Deuxime Piscous, who finished second, is also sired by a French sire, In Love With You.
Trotters trained by Timo Nurmos earned close to $600,000 over the weekend.
The Swedish Trotting Derby is for 4-year-old trotters. Just one mare was entered in the 1-5/8th mile event, Tamla Celeber (sired by Cantab Hall), but she never found racing room and was further interfered with down the stretch and just narrowly escaped a tumble.
Her connections could have opted to race her in the Derbystoet for mares over the 1-5/16th mile distance. With her absence, that race became an easy task for the favorite Nettan Palema, driven by Ake Svanstedt, who won in 1:58f (mile rate). Nettan Palema, who is sired by Gidde Palema, got the winner’s purse of $110,000.