Swedishman Wins 1st 2013 GNT leg at Amiens

Swedishman, a 7 year-old gelded son of Gogo, trained and driven by Thierry Duvaldestin, overcame a 25 meter handicap to win the first leg of the prestigious Gr. III GNT (Grand National du Trot) at Amiens yesterday. GNT carried a purse of 90,000 euro for the 2,900 meter distance, plus handicaps imposed on the highest lifetime money winners. Swedishman covered the distance (2,925 meters) in a mile rate time of 1:58.74 to defeat Reggae d’Urzy (Coktail Jet) driven by Franck Ouvrie. Swedishman has now won five of his last six starts and 18 of 40 lifetime, for career earnings of 419,230 euro. Swedishman was the 1.8/1 favorite in this contest that was the Quinte+ (national pick 5 plus jackpot) race in France.

The GNT visits 13 tracks in France (Amiens, Marseille-Borely, Saint-Galmier, Toulouse, La Capelle, Laval, Reims, Saint-Malo, Marseille-Vivaux, Cherbourg, Lyon-La-Soie, Nantes and Marquenchy) before a point based final on December 1 at Paris-Vincennes. Considered a potential stepping stone for classic races, the GNT has been won in recent years by Riskaya (2012), Quif de Villeneuve (2011), Quoumba de Guez (2010) and Oasis Gede (2008). GNT brings a quality event with national scope to more rural markets, thereby broadening the fan base for horse racing.

Stall Trot, Inc.
Thomas H. Hicks