Two of North American harness racing's top sophomore trotters of 2026 are slated for overseas competition in 2027.
According to owner Courant Inc., both 2026 Breeders Crown winner Nezuko Kamado S and 2026 Kentucky Futurity champ Nix Nacken have concluded their North American campaigns and will look to tackle Europe's top trotters in 2027 and beyond.
"Nezuko Kamado will after this start take the journey across the Atlantic to prepare for competing in Europe as a four-year-old," said the stable in a Facebook post on Monday (Oct. 26), noting that the mare will follow a similar schedule to stable star Jovialty S.
A Courant homebred, Nezuko Kamado S (pictured above) sports a record of 14-3-1 from 23 starts in her career, amassing $2,061,920 million in earnings. With her Breeders Crown win on Saturday, the daughter of Chapter Seven-Zefira Kronos IT became the first filly to double in the Hambletonian Oaks and Breeders Crown since Bella Bellini in 2021 and looms as a likely contender for divisional honours.
Nix Nacken, who finished second in Saturday's Breeders Crown, will receive some consideration in Dan Patch Award voting after his three-year-old season that finished with a 5-4-3 record from 17 starts, a mark of 1:50 and $1.28 million in purses. The Kentucky Futurity and Canadian Trotting Classic winner finished his season with top-two finishes in his last seven races despite having five different drivers.
"Nix will now also fly to Europe with eyes on the bigger four-year-old races such as the Kungapokalen (King's Cup) and Sprintermästaren (Sprinter Stakes) next season," said the stable.
A son of Muscle Hill-Nixie Volo, Nix Nacken brings a record of 8-6-4 from 28 starts and $1.54 million in earnings into his four-year-old year.
Both horses were trained in North America by Marcus Melander, with training duties in Europe still to be finalized.
(Standardbred Canada)