Commander Crowe Wins 2012 Oslo Grand Prix

European standout Commander Crowe was a decisive winner in the 2012 Oslo Grand Prix in Bjerke, Norway today (Sunday) and will head into the Elitlopp in two weeks time as one of the heavy favourites

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Driver Christophe Martens allowed Arch Madness (Trond Smedshammer) and Quarcio du Chene (Bjorn Goop) to charge out first, with Windsong Geant (Rick Zeron) also vying for early position near the front. After Zeron settled his charge into third, Martens stalked pacesetter Arch Madness first up and Smedshammer eventually allowed the flashy trotter to clear to the lead.

The first challenger to Commander Crowe was Timoko (Richard Westerink), with Yarrah Boko (Kai Johansen) on his back. Arch Madness sat patiently in the pocket with Quarcio du Chene behind him while Windsong Geant at this point was shuffled back to seventh, locked in fourth along the rail. Down the backstretch for the final time, Timoko started to tire and become rough gaited from the first over grind prompting Johansen to tip Yarrah Boko three-wide. As Westerink lost Timoko, space opened up for Goop to get room and tip out Quarcio du Chene for the stretch drive.

At the head of the lane, Martens and Commander Crowe had opened up to a lead of more than a length but Goop rallied Quarcio du Chene for a late bid. Under minimal urging and with a close eye on the hard-closing challenger, Martens guided Commander Crowe to a length decision over Quarcio du Chene. Arch Madness was just nosed out for second. The mile rate of 1:55f equaled the race record.

Windsong Geant was never a factor, finishing seventh in his European debut.