Gigant Neo (17 May 1998 – 20 October 2021) was a Swedish breeding stallion and racing trotter by Super Arnie out of Clorita Lobell by Speedy Crown.[1]
| Gigant Neo | |
|---|---|
| Breed | Standardbred |
| Sire | Super Arnie |
| Grandsire | Super Bowl |
| Dam | Clorita Lobell |
| Maternal grandsire | Speedy Crown |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | 17 May 1998 |
| Country | Sweden |
| Colour | Bay |
| Breeder | Nils-Erik Ohlsson, C & M Olsson |
| Owner | Stall T.Z. & Lövis |
| Trainer | Stefan Melander |
| Record | |
| 63: 32-8-3 | |
| Earnings | |
| US$2,596,145 | |
| Major wins | |
| Konung Gustaf V:s Pokal (2002) Prix d'Amérique (2006) | |
| Awards | |
| Three-year-old of the Year Award (Sweden) (2001) | |
| Last updated on: 2009-03-18. | |
His most prestigious victories included the Konung Gustaf V:s Pokal (2001), Grand Criterium de Vitesse (2003) and Prix d'Amérique (2006).[2] At the end of his career, the stallion had earned US$2,596,145.[3][4] Gigant Neo was trained by Swedish trotting trainer Stefan Melander, and driven by Jorma Kontio, Jean-Michel Bazire, Dominiek Locqueneux, Joseph Verbeeck and trainer Melander himself.[2][5] Gigant Neo won the 3-year-old of the Year Award in Sweden in 2001.[6]
Victory in Prix d'Amérique
editIn 2006, Gigant Neo raced his fourth Prix d'Amérique, arguably the most prestigious trotting event in Europe.[5][7] He had made attempts to claim the title the three previous years, without success.[5] He came fairly close in 2005, when he finished second behind French Jag de Bellouet.[8]
In the 2006 Prix d'Amérique, the field was recalled three times, and one horse lost his driver and went loose on the track. Gigant Neo took the lead in the fourth starting attempt. Soon, reigning champion and favourite Jag de Bellouet went up front while second favourite Kazire de Guez was parked outside. In the stretch, Kazire du Guez broke stride, and Jag de Bellouet won by two lengths before Gigant Neo.[9]
A little more than a month after the race, it was announced that Jag de Bellouet had been disqualified due to a failed doping test. Traces of tolfenamic acid, an anti-inflammatory substance, had been discovered. As a result, Gigant Neo become the new winner of the title and US$600,000, which was the winner's share of the purse in 2006's edition of the richest trotting race in Europe.[10] Upon getting the news, Gigant Neo's trainer Melander was shocked and reacted by sitting down on a hay bale, staring straight forward.[11]
Pedigree
edit| Sire Super Arnie |
Super Bowl 
|
Star's Pride
|
Worthy Boy
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Star Drift
| |||
| Pillow Talk
|
Rodney
| ||
| Bewitch
| |||
| Arnies Likeness
|
Arnie Almahurst
|
Speedy Scot
| |
| Ambitious Blaze
| |||
| Picture Dart
|
Dartmouth
| ||
| Picturesque
| |||
| Dam Clorita Lobell |
Speedy Crown
|
Speedy Scot
|
Speedster
|
| Scotch Love
| |||
| Missile Toe
|
Florican
| ||
| Worth A Plenty
| |||
| Countess Advocate
|
Speedy Count
|
Speedster
| |
| Countess Song
| |||
| Lovie Hanover
|
Star's Pride | ||
| Lovely Hanover |
References
edit- ^ "Travsport.se - Gigant Neo - Härstamning". travsport.se (in Swedish). STC. Retrieved 2009-03-18.
- ^ a b "Gigant Neo". gigantneo.nu (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 2009-02-13. Retrieved 2009-03-18.
- ^ a b "The Blood Bank - Pedigree - Gigant Neo". Blodbanken.nu. Retrieved 2009-03-18.
- ^ Gigant Neo won 20,254,374 Swedish Kronor (SEK). In the conversion to USD, the rates of 2006-02-12, the date of Gigant Neo's last race, have been used.
- ^ a b c "Gigant Neo". qhurth.com (in Swedish). Retrieved 2009-03-18.
- ^ "Svenska Hästsportjournalisters Klubb - Tidigare vinnare - Årets treåring". shk.nu (in Swedish). Svenska Hästsportjournalisters Klubb. Retrieved 2009-03-18.
- ^ Bonsdorf, Karsten (2009-01-12). "New names in the picture for Prix d'Amerique". ustrotting.com. United States Trotting Association. Archived from the original on 2009-01-14. Retrieved 2009-03-19.
- ^ Corban, Anthony (2005-02-01). "Powerful trotting performance". harnesslink.com. Retrieved 2009-03-19.
- ^ Bonsdorf, Karsten (2006-01-29). "Repeat Prix d'Amerique win for Jag de Bellouet". ustrotting.com. United States Trotting Association. Retrieved 2009-03-19.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Bonsdorf, Karsten (2006-03-09). "Prix d'Amerique winner taken down". ustrotting.com. United States Trotting Association. Retrieved 2009-03-19.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Andersson, Pär (2006-03-09). "Jag de Bellouet diskad i Prix d'Amerique". trav.ifokus.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2009-03-19.