Wednesday, 7 June sees Laval stage the 6th leg of the coveted Grand National du Trot. With a total of 14 races spread throughout the year and throughout the country, the series has almost reached its half-way point, the final to be disputed at France’s home of trotting, Vincennes, on 3 December.

Since its inception in 1982, the series incorporated both kinds of starting procedure, but for 2023, Le Trot, governing body of French trotting, opted to reduce the number of races with a mobile start to one, that of La Rochelle (13 July).

Next week’s stage at Laval carries Gr.3 status and will be run over 2850m, with the total prize fund of €90,000 attracting horses from across the land.

Winner of three of the last five stages, Gaspar D’Angis tops the table by a considerable margin from Howdy Partner and Harlem De Bucy. While the declarations have yet to be made, it is highly likely that all three will line up next week.

Victorious at Saint-Brieuc, Horace Du Goutier beat both Glamour Queen and the table-topper and they too are expected to figure on the list of runners. Other notable possibles include Hidalgo Des Noes, seldom disappointing in the provinces, the consistent Harlem De Bussy, and Gangster Du Vallon who should find this race considerably less arduous than the Gr.2 Prix des Ducs de Normandie.

Faithful partner of Jean-Michel Baudouin’s horse, Eric Raffin leads the GNT driver’s challenge, an impressive 40 points clear of nearest rival, Franck Nivard. Baudouin tops the trainer’s table with 57 points, 37 ahead of second-placed Swede, Tomas Malmqvist.

With eight legs left to run after the Laval edition, these classifications could still change significantly, a prospect to tickle the curiosity of both public and professionals alike.