5-year-old European Championship

5-year-old European Championship
	Group One International race
Location	Various European racetracks ; Europe
Inaugurated	1967
Race type	Harness race for standardbred trotters
Website	UET - 5 years old European championship [ permanent dead link ]
Race information
Distance	approximately 2,100 meters (1.31 mile)
Qualification	5-year-old European-born stallions and mares, selected by national federations that are members of the European Trotting Union
Purse	≈US$132,000 (€100,000)

Last updated March 05, 2019

The 5-year-old European Championship, also called European 5-year-old Championship, is an annual Group One harness event that is arranged by the European Trotting Union, UET. The race takes place on a racetrack in one of the member countries of UET. The contenders are chosen by the different national trotting federations that are members of UET. Only 5-year-old European-born stallions and mares can be selected. The 5-year-old European Championship was raced for the first time in 1967.^[1]

Group One, Group 1Grade I or G1 is the term used for the highest level of Thoroughbred and Standardbred stakes races in many countries. In Europe, the level of races for Thoroughbred racing is determined using the Pattern race system introduced in 1971 and monitored by the European Pattern Committee. To attain or maintain a Group One status, the average rating for the first four finishers in the race must be 115 or higher over a three year period. The International Federation of Horseracing Authorities works to ensure consistent international standards. Group One races may only be restricted to age groups or a stipulated sex: they should not be restricted to horses bred in a certain country. Group One (G1) races may be run under handicap conditions in Australia, but in Europe weight-for-age conditions always apply.

Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait. They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, occupied by a driver, although in Europe, jockeys riding directly on saddled trotters is also conducted.

The Union Europeenne du Trot, or in English, the European Trotting Union, also known by its acronym, UET, is the governing body of European trotting. The federations main purpose "is the promotion of trotting races and horse breeding in Europe as well as their integrity and prestige in the world". Its headquarters are in the country of the General Secretariat and the federation's current president is Swedish Patrik Sandin. UET has 18 member associations.

Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern and Western Europe. Located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia and the enclaved microstates San Marino and Vatican City. Italy covers an area of 301,340 km² (116,350 sq mi) and has a largely temperate seasonal and Mediterranean climate. With around 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth-most populous EU member state and the most populous country in Southern Europe.

Racing conditions

The distance has most years been between 2,000 and 2,300 meters. There are two exceptions. In 1982 and 1986, the distances were 1,600 and 1,660 meters respectively. The distance interval has decreased and since 1990, the race has been over 2,060-2,150 meters. The race has always been started by the use of auto start.^[4]

Past winners

Drivers with most wins

2: Eddy Freundt (1967, 1970)
2: Stig H. Johansson (1973, 1988)
2: Anders Lindqvist (1990, 1995)
2: Joseph Verbeeck (1998, 2003)^[4]

Stig Henry Johansson is a Swedish trotting trainer and former driver. He started his career as a professional trainer in 1969, and has during a large part of the career been a dominating force in Swedish trotting. He is, arguably, the greatest in Swedish trotting history. Internationally, he is regarded as one of the sport's great. Among the horses he has trained are top trotters Victory Tilly, Queen L., Peace Corps, Napoletano, Digger Crown, The Onion and Utah Bulwark. Together with these and other horses, Johansson has won numerous major races, including Elitloppet, Gran Premio della Lotteria, Nat Ray Trot (once) and Prix d'Amérique (once).

Sires with at least two winning offsprings

3: Pay Dirt (Tarok, Granit Bangsbo, Hairos)
2: Cocktail Jet (Kiwi, Jetstile)
2: Express Rodney (Express Gaxe, Ex Lee)^[4]

Countries, number of wins

Sweden, officially the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Scandinavian Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north and Finland to the east, and is connected to Denmark in the southwest by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund, a strait at the Swedish-Danish border. At 450,295 square kilometres (173,860 sq mi), Sweden is the largest country in Northern Europe, the third-largest country in the European Union and the fifth largest country in Europe by area. Sweden has a total population of 10.2 million of which 2.4 million has a foreign background. It has a low population density of 22 inhabitants per square kilometre (57/sq mi). The highest concentration is in the southern half of the country.

France, officially the French Republic, is a country whose territory consists of metropolitan France in Western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The metropolitan area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is bordered by Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany to the northeast, Switzerland and Italy to the east, and Andorra and Spain to the south. The overseas territories include French Guiana in South America and several islands in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. The country's 18 integral regions span a combined area of 643,801 square kilometres (248,573 sq mi) and a total population of 67.3 million. France, a sovereign state, is a unitary semi-presidential republic with its capital in Paris, the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre. Other major urban areas include Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Lille and Nice.

Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central and Western Europe, lying between the Baltic and North Seas to the north, and the Alps to the south. It borders Denmark to the north, Poland and the Czech Republic to the east, Austria and Switzerland to the south, France to the southwest, and Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands to the west.

Fastest winners

1:11.3 (km rate): Mara Bourbon (2005)^[4]

All winners of the 5-year-old European Championship

Year	Horse	Driver	Winning horse's native country	Winning time (km rate)	Track
2011	Joke Face	Lotfi Lolgjini	Sweden	1:12.4	Åby, Sweden
2010	Yield Boko	Bjorn Goop	Sweden	1:12.4	Bjerke, Norway
2009	Ilaria Jet	Jean Michel Bazire	Italy	1:13.9	Treviso, Italy
2008	Brioni	Joakim Lövgren	Germany	1:12.1	Åby, Sweden
2007	Offshore Dream	Henri Levesque	France	1:12.2	Vincennes, France
2006	Jetstile	Geir Vegard Gundersen	Norway	1:13.1	Halmstad, Sweden
2005	Mara Bourbon	Jean-Pierre Dubois	France	1:11.3	Vincennes, France
2004	Tsar d'Inverne	Dominiek Locqueneux	Sweden	1:14.6	Treviso, Italy
2003	Kiwi	Joseph Verbeeck	France	1:13.1	Treviso, Italy
2002	Abano As	Pietro Gubellini	Germany	1:13.7	Treviso, Italy
2001	Zambesi Bi	Mario Biasuzzi	Italy	1:13.8	Treviso, Italy
2000	Varenne	Giampaolo Minnucci	Italy	1:14.5	Treviso, Italy
1999	General du Pommeau	Jules Lepennetier	France	1:16.2	Vincennes, France
1998	Remington Crown	Joseph Verbeeck	Sweden	1:15.1	Vincennes, France
1997	Call Me	Veijo Heiskanen	Finland	1:14.6	Jägersro, Sweden
1996	Defi d'Aunou	Jean-Etienne Dubois	France	1:15.6	Enghien, France
1995	Camino	Anders Lindqvist	France	1:17.3	Bjerke, Norway
1994	Boss Is Back	Jorma Kontio	Finland	1:17.7	Dinslaken, Germany
1993	Iata Käll	Tommy Hanné	Sweden	1:14.6	Gelsenkirchen, Germany
1992	Shan Rags	Noralf Braekken	Norway	1:15.1	Teivo, Finland
1991	Zico Star F.	Asbjörn Mehla	Norway	1:15.1	Daglfing, Germany
1990	Atas Fighter L.	Anders Lindqvist	Sweden	1:16.0	Vincennes, France
1989	Race cancelled due to A2 virus
1988	Piper Cub	Stig H. Johansson	Sweden	1:16.3	Gelsenkirchen, Germany
1987	Krista Sidney	Olle Goop	Sweden	1:15.9	Axevalla, Sweden
1986	Hairos	John Hansen	Denmark	1:16.4	Cesena, Italy
1985	Granit Bangsbo	Steen Juul	Denmark	1:16.8	Schaasberg, Netherlands
1984	Meadow Sonn	Josef Sparber	Germany	1:17.7	Kuurne, Belgium
1983	Mr Black	Olle Larsson	Sweden	1:16.4	Bjerke, Norway
1982	Dimma	Björn Lindblom	Sweden	1:16.1	Naples, Italy
1981	Dartster F.	Olle Hedin	Sweden	1:17.2	Vincennes, France
1980	Rocky	Martti Ropponen	Finland	1:16.3	Vermo, Finland
1979	Ex Lee	Dan Wegebrand	Sweden	1:19.4	Daglfing, Germany
1978	Express Gaxe	Gunnar Axelryd	Sweden	1:16.6	Tor di Valle, Italy
1977	Tarok	Jörn Laursen	Denmark	1:18.6	Åby, Sweden
1976	Faro	Paul Essartial	France	1:17.0	Duindigt, Netherlands
1975	Micko Tilly	Olle Lindqvist	Sweden	1:18.7	Bjerke, Norway
1974	Dines P.	Michel Lecacheux	France	1:20.4	Vincennes, France
1973	Tim Cross	Stig H. Johansson	Sweden	1:20.0	Sterrebeek, Belgium
1972	Cirro	Sören Nordin	Sweden	1:19.1	Berlin, Germany
1971	Henri Buitenzorg	Jan Wagenaar	Netherlands	1:22.5	Århus, Denmark
1970	Claudia II	Eddy Freundt	Germany	1:19.4	Solvalla, Sweden
1969	Wallburg	W. Root	Germany	1:19.8	Duindigt, Netherlands
1968	Fairland	Bertil Rogell	Sweden	1:21.4	Bjerke, Norway
1967	Sebald	Eddy Freundt	Germany	1:21.9	Gelsenkirchen, Germany

^[4]^[1]

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References

1 2 "5 years old European championship" (PDF). uet-trot.net.
↑ "2009 Group I races calendar" (PDF). uet-trot.net. European Trotting Union (UET). Retrieved 2009-04-16.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
↑ In the conversion from Euro to USD, the rates of 2009-04-16 have been used.
1 2 3 4 5 6 "Europeiskt Femåringschampionat". qhurth.com (in Swedish). Retrieved 2009-04-16.
↑ Search results from database of Svenska Travsportens Centralförbund at "travsport.se". Archived from the original on 2007-08-22. Retrieved 2009-04-17.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
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[UET_-_5_years_old_European_championship-1] 1 2 "5 years old European championship" (PDF). uet-trot.net.

[UET_Group_races-2] "2009 Group I races calendar" (PDF). uet-trot.net. European Trotting Union (UET). Retrieved 2009-04-16.^{[ permanent dead link ]}

[3] In the conversion from Euro to USD, the rates of 2009-04-16 have been used.

[Results_through_the_years-4] 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Europeiskt Femåringschampionat". qhurth.com (in Swedish). Retrieved 2009-04-16.

[5] Search results from database of Svenska Travsportens Centralförbund at "travsport.se". Archived from the original on 2007-08-22. Retrieved 2009-04-17.

Race information
Group One International race
Location	Various European racetracks Europe
Inaugurated	1967
Race type	Harness race for standardbred trotters
Website	UET - 5 years old European championship ^{[ permanent dead link ]}
Distance	approximately 2,100 meters (1.31 mile)
Qualification	5-year-old European-born stallions and mares, selected by national federations that are members of the European Trotting Union
Purse	≈US$132,000 (€100,000)