The President of the Balearic Government, Marga Prohens, and the President of the Consell de Mallorca, Llorenç Galmés, were in charge of presenting the prized trophy.
This afternoon, the Son Pardo racecourse hosted the most important event on Mallorca’s trotting calendar, the Gran Premio Nacional 2024, now in its 91st year. The tandem Lluna de Llevant and Antoni Frontera have managed to cover 2,150 metres in 1’15’90, thus becoming the brand new winners of the Gran Premio Nacional de Trote 2024.
TDB te mantiene informado. Síguenos en : Facebook, Twitter e Instagram
Lluna de Llevant and Antoni Frontera
The start was explosive and very evenly matched, and the pack at the front remained practically the same throughout the race, even though along the course some of the riders who had clear chances of winning the race were dismounted. A few meters from the finish line, we have lived a heart-stopping finish with a very smart move by the one who finally has been proclaimed winner, which shows the great ‘menador’ that is and why he is the one who has won more GPN in history.
The president of the Balearic Government, Marga Prohens and the president of the Consell de Mallorca, Llorenç Galmés, has been in charge of handing the precious trophy, a sculpture by Miguel Sarasate, to the winner Antoni Frontera, who has collected it accompanied by the owner and the trainer of Lluna de Llevant.
The president of the Consell said that “the National Grand Prix is an international event, which makes our island the epicentre of this sport in Europe. It is a celebration of tradition, culture and community. It is a source of pride for our island,” said Galmés, while highlighting the “great social and cultural importance of this sport for Mallorca.
“We are very happy with the great reception of this 91st edition of the Grand Prix, attracting thousands of spectators, both locals and tourists, who have been able to enjoy this sport so deeply rooted in our island throughout the weekend with the recovery of the celebration of the day, which was a request of the clubs,” said Llorenç Galmés.
The Gran Premio Sencers I Egües, another of the most eagerly awaited prizes of the day, had 9 participants aged 3 years and over who had to complete the 2,150 metres of the course to be eligible for the 6,000 euros prize money. The winner, on this occasion, was Heros De Fleur, riding at 1’14″90, followed by Flower Etoilee, who came in at 1’15″00 and the third position was Flamme De Ginai, who also rode at 1’15″00.
A date marked in the calendar
The third Sunday in May is a date marked in red in the calendar of trotting lovers. The Son Pardo racecourse once again hosted the race where the 16 best 3-year-old colts competed (15 in the end due to the withdrawal of one of the participants), this year called the “L” generation, who thanks to their regularity in the qualifying rounds have won a place in the most coveted race.
The day began with the morning session in which, for the first time, the children also competed in their Grand Prix. This was followed by the 4 morning races.
As for the afternoon session, there was a very festive atmosphere in Son Pardo, with more people than ever before, the grandstands filled to overflowing and the fans eager to relive the excitement of a Grand Prix so deeply rooted and with so much relevance.
Minutes after 18:00 the traditional parade began, with the mounted police, the trophy cart and finally last year’s big winner, Kiwi Duran, who paraded with the winner’s blanket, followed by all this year’s participants, who introduced themselves to the public one by one.
After recognizing the course that will inscribe one of them in the history of trotting, the most important and prestigious race of our territory has been given, resulting as winners Lluna de Llevant and Antoni Frontera, in 1’15’90. The second position has been for Le Chef Wood and D. Oliver rolling to 1’16″00, and in third place has arrived Ladil and Jaume Fluxá with a time of 1’16″40.