Orlando Vici son wins 122,000€ St. Michel Ajo

July 19, 2020 – Next Direction (7g Orlando Vici – Be By Luxx) traveled in gate to wire fashion for harness racing reinsman Iikka Nurmonen, trainer Timo Hulkkonen and owner Team Look The Winner to take the Gr. I St. Michel Ajo at Mikkelin Ravit today.

Race time was 1.08.9kr, a race record eclipsing the previous mark set by legendary Varenne in 2002 of 1.09.3kr.

Raced over 1609 meters (one mile) for a total purse of 122,000€ (70,000€ to the winner plus 10,000€ bonus for breaking the race record).

Next Direction, second in the 2019 edition, was off at 23.5/1 odds and he bested 2.4/1 Vennissage Grif (6m Varenne – Dalia Grif) with Alessandro Gocciadoro the trainer/driver.

Last year’s winner and 6.5/1 odds Makethemark (7m Maharajah – Global Naughty) was third with Ulf Ohlsson the pilot.

5.7/1 Moni Viking was fourth followed by Sobel Conway, Antonio Tabac (parked alongside the winner to the 1100-meter mark), and 1.1/1 favorite Missile Hill.

Next Direction

Race replay –https://veikkausmedia.fi/?video=20200719_21_110

 

Previous race winners, including many international legends (Ina Scot, Mack Lobell, Creatine, Rapide Lebel), are listed in the Wikipedia chart shown below.

 

Earlier in a four year old event named the Eugen Pylvenaisen Pokal, worth 10,000€ to the winner (total purse 24,000€), and raced over 1609 meters autostart, Mascate Match (4f Muscle Mass – Captivation – Cantab Hall) prevailed by a nose in a sharp 1.10kr with Pekka Korpi aboard.

She was off at 1.46/1 odds and racing with shoes on defeated two US bred performers, second finishing Golden Tricks (4f Trixton-Golden Goose-SJs Photo), owned and trained by Daniel Reden/Stall Zet  just missed, and third home Gerris Trix (4g Trixton-Gerris Joy-Enjoy Lavec).

Mascate Match won for the sixth time in seven 2020 starts and she now has 21 lifetime victories in 25 appearances.

Mascate Match (inside)

Race reply – https://veikkausmedia.fi/?video=20200719_21_110

 

Thomas H. Hicks