Åby Stora Pris (literally "Åby Grand Prize") is an annual

Group One Group One, Group 1, Grade 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 races, Pattern race sys ...

harness event for trotters that is held at

Åby Racetrack Åby Racetrack ( sv, Åbytravet) is a horse racing track located in Mölndal, 10 km south of Gothenburg, Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the coun ...

Mölndal Mölndal () is the seat and administrative centre of Mölndal Municipality, located just south of Gothenburg on the west-coast of Sweden. About 40,000 of the municipality's 60,000 inhabitants live in Mölndal proper. Geography Mölndal is located ...

, 10 km south of

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. Åby Stora Pris has taken place since 1936, the same year Åby Racetrack was opened. In 2008, the purse of the event was approximately US$359,000 (SEK2,400,000). Åby Stora Pris is part of the

European Grand Circuit European Grand Circuit (french: Grand Circuit européen) was a harness racing series arranged by European Trotting Union. It was held from 1956 to 2011. The competition was replaced by UET Masters Series in 2012. The circuit consisted of the ma ...

Racing conditions

Through the years, the conditions of the event have varied. Before 2005, the winner was decided through a single race. This one race had since 1978 been of 2,140 meters. As from 2005, when the setup was changed, the same eight horses have been racing each other in two 1,640 meter-heats. These heats are followed by a race-off of 1,640 meters, if necessary, i.e. if the two heats are won by different horses. With the exception of 1981, a motorized starting gate has been used to launch the race since 1979. In 1978, when the distance was decreased to 2,140 meters, another shift was made as well. Date wise, the event had been held in May or June until then. After the change in 1978, it has been held in September, apart from the years 1990-92 when the race was in August. The event is invitational, meaning only invited horses can participate. To come in contention for invitations, a horse must be of age four or above.

Past winners

Horses with most wins

* 2 - Sebastian K. (2012, 2013) * 2 -

Gidde Palema Gidde Palema (born 9 April 1995) is a Swedish Standardbred breeding stallion and former racing Trot, trotter by Alf Palema out of Rosie Palema by Ideal du Gazeau. His most prestigious victories include Oslo Grand Prix (2003, 2004), Copenhagen Cu ...

(2003, 2005) * 2 -

Victory Tilly Victory Tilly (born May 3, 1995) is a Swedish former racing trotter by Quick Pay out of Icora Tilly by Fakir du Vivier. His most prestigious victories include the Swedish Trotting Derby (Swedish: ''Svenskt Travderby''), Elitloppet, Nat Ray Tr ...

(2000, 2002) * 2 -

Zoogin Zoogin (3 June 1990 – 10 June 2020) was a Swedish racing trotter by Zoot Suit out of Ginjette by Lornjett. His most prestigious victories include the Swedish Trotting Criterium (Swedish: ''Svenskt Travkriterium'') (1993), Oslo Grand Prix (19 ...

(1995, 1996) * 2 - Idéal du Gazeau (1981, 1982) * 2 -

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

(1970, 1972) * 2 - Gelinotte (1956, 1957) * 2 - Iran Scott (1951, 1952)

Sires with at least two winning offsprings

* 3 -

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

(

Scotch Thistle ''Onopordum acanthium'' (cotton thistle, Scotch (or Scottish) thistle, not to be confused with ''Cirsium vulgare'' - spear thistle, which is also known as Scotch or Scottish thistle and is the national flower of Scotland. Spear thistle is nat ...

, Scotch Fez,

Locomotive A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...

) * 3 -

Bulwark Bulwark primarily refers to: * Bulwark (nautical), a nautical term for the extension of a ship's side above the level of a weather deck * Bastion, a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification The Bulwark primarily refe ...

(

Frances Bulwark Frances Bulwark (born 5 April 1945 ) was a Swedish Standardbred racing trotter and brood mare by Bulwark out of Frances Great by Kaffir Axworthy. Her most prestigious victories include six Swedish Championships (1950–51, 1953–56), five ...

, Optimist,

Justus Justus (died on 10 November between 627 and 631) was the fourth Archbishop of Canterbury. He was sent from Italy to England by Pope Gregory the Great, on a mission to Christianize the Anglo-Saxons from their native paganism, probably arrivin ...

) * 2 -

Quick Pay Quick, as an adjective, refers to something moving with high speed. Quick may also refer to: In business * Quick (restaurant), a Belgian fast-food restaurant chain * Quick (sportswear), a Dutch manufacturer of sportswear * Quick (automobile) ...

(Victory Tilly,

The Onion ''The Onion'' is an American digital media company and newspaper organization that publishes satirical articles on international, national, and local news. The company is based in Chicago but originated as a weekly print publication on August 2 ...

) * 2 -

Kairos Kairos ( grc, καιρός) is an ancient Greek word meaning 'the right, critical, or opportune moment'. In modern Greek, ''kairos'' also means 'weather' or 'time'. It is one of two words that the ancient Greeks had for 'time'; the other bei ...

(Gelinotte, Hairos II) * 2 - Hermes D. ( Pluvier III, Orlof) * 2 - Hollyrood Harkaway (

Trumps A trump is a playing card which is elevated above its usual rank in trick-taking games. Typically, an entire suit is nominated as a ''trump suit''; these cards then outrank all cards of plain (non-trump) suits. In other contexts, the terms ''tru ...

Escape Escape or Escaping may refer to: Computing * Escape character, in computing and telecommunication, a character which signifies that what follows takes an alternative interpretation ** Escape sequence, a series of characters used to trigger some so ...

)

Mares with at least two winning offsprings

* 2 - My Sister Lou ( Big Noon, Exklusiv)

Drivers with most wins

* 6 -

Åke Svanstedt Åke is a masculine Swedish given name, possibly derived from the medieval Germanic name ''Anicho'', derived from ''ano'' meaning "ancestor". In Sweden, May 8 is the Name day for Åke. There are variant spellings, including the Danish/Norwegian ...

* 5 -

Stig H. Johansson Stig Henry Johansson (born 26 July 1945 in Forsa, Hälsingland, Forsa, Hälsingland, Sweden) 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 ...

* 4 - Gösta Nordin * 3 -

Sören Nordin Ernst Sören Nordin (5 September 1917, in Forsa, Hälsingland – 6 September 2008) was a Swedish harness racing driver and trainer who later started a stable in America. Nordin won 3,221 races in 10 different countries as a driver, he won the Sw ...

* 3 - Ragnar Thorngren * 3 -

Jorma Kontio Erkki Jorma Kontio (born August 7, 1953 in Oulu, Finland) is a Finnish Harness racing driver. With more than 11,000 wins, he is the most victorious harness driver in Scandinavia. Kontio started his career in the late 1960s. Since 2000 he has live ...

Other note

Frances Bulwark is the only

mare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...

that have won the event herself (in 1950) in addition to having bred a winner, the stallion Frances Nibs, who won in 1964. Frances Nibs has also sired a winner, the champion of 1977, Micko Tilly. Thus this line represents winners in three generations.

All winners of Åby Stora Pris

References

External links

Official website (Swedish)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aby Stora Pris Harness races in Sweden