Earl Simon with highest allowance in `GNT`

Le Croise-Laroche, Wednesday 25 May: A balanced line-up is in place today at Le Croise-Laroche for the fifth leg of the Grand National du Trot racing series (race 1/13.50/€90,000/2800m). Trainer Jean-Michel Bazire sends three horses into the Group 3 match and takes the driving reins himself with Farrell Seven, who is owned by himself.

Two wins in a row speak in favour of the Redeo-Josselyn son, albeit in smaller races. Fulton (Jean-Charles Piton), who comes into his own better under saddle, and Dorgos de Guez (Guillermo Horrach-Vidal), who is handicapped with a double allowance, are among the outsiders. In the middle band, Hanna des Molles (Alexandre Abrivard), who finished an excellent second behind Cleangame in the last `GNT` stage ahead of Freyja du Pont (Nicolas Bazire), Django du Bocage (Pierre-Yves Verva) and Eire d`Helios (Francois Lagadeuc), takes off. Earl Simon (Franck Ouvrie) stands out with three Belgian wins, but whether it will be enough for last year`s Elitloppet finalist and winner of the Prix des Ducs de Normandie (Group 2) with maximum allowance to go all the way remains to be seen. El Greco Bello (Mathieu Mottier) hit the ground too hard in Vincennes. From the basic mark, the eight-year-old should come into his own again.