Hail the new star of international trotting

He’s been billed as “the best trotter ever bred in Sweden” and “the hottest harness racing trotter in the world” today.

The horse is the undefeated world champion Calgary Games (Readly Express), a five-year-old entire trained in Sweden by the Finnish born Timo Nurmos and by the dual Swedish Horse of the Year and sensational young sire Readly Express.

Calgary Games was bought as a foal by Nurmos out of the paddock at Sweden’s leading stud farm, Menhammar Stuteri near Stockholm.

He was unraced at two and unbeaten in three starts as a three-year-old.

As a four-year-old, Calgary Games went to a whole new level, winning at his only six appearances.

Calgary Games put an exclamation mark on his career when he annexed the $800,000 Swedish Derby at Jagersro, covering the 2640 metres in a 1:55.2 rate – a new world record for a four-year-old trotter on a five-eighths track. He tramped his last 800 in 54.3 on the outside.

One month later, he defeated the top four-year-olds in Europe in the Group 1 $400,000 European Trotting Derby at the Aby track in Sweden.

Speaking after the European Derby, trainer Nurmos said: “Almost all horses are missing something, but Calgary Games has all the pieces in place”.

The total margin of victory in his first nine appearances was 45 lengths.

Calgary Games was subsequently named the 2021 Swedish Horse of the Year and 4YO of the Year.

Earlier this year, it was decided that Calgary Games would mix stud duties with competition.

Located at Menhammar Stuteri, Calgary Games served a full book of 150 mares in Sweden and 33 mares by frozen semen in North America.

Maori Time, Australasia’s fastest ever trotter owned by Melbournians Fred Crews and Duncan McPherson, is to be mated with Calgary Games next season and will be served by him again in 2024 to Southern Hemisphere time.

Calgary Games returned to racing in mid-December, winning effortlessly over 2110 metres in a 1:58.1 mile rate at Solvalla racetrack in Stockholm to extend his unbeaten winning streak to 10.

Calgary Games’ immediate target is the $1 million Grand Prix dÁmerique, a race won by his own sire Readly Express – also trained by Nurmos – back in 2018.

Remarkably, Calgary Games has been installed as the heavy favourite at 3 to 2 for the pinnacle event of the Paris winter meeting at Vincennes on January 29, despite having not even qualified for the race.

He will have to win either the Group 1 Prix Tenor de Baune for five-year-olds on December 24 or be one of the first three finishers in either the Group 2 Prix de Bourgogne on New Year’s Day or the Group 2 Prix de Belgique on January 15 to qualify.

by Peter Wharton, for Harness Racing Victoria