January 28. Varenne took the lead early in the race and maintained that position all the way. After a couple of smaller wins, he again took Gran Premio della Lotteria in Naples on May 6. Three weeks later, he defeated the reigning champion in Elitloppet, Victory Tilly, although he was parked for most of the race. Varenne suffered his only loss of the year to Jackhammer in Gran Premio U.N.I.R.E in Milan. After returning to his winning ways in Elite-Rennen at Gelsenkirchen, Germany, Varenne crossed the Atlantic for his first journey to North America. The first stop was Meadowlands Racetrack, New Jersey, and the biggest aged harness event in North America: the $1 million Breeders Crown Open Trot on July 28. After Varenne's sweep of the three greatest European races (he was the first horse to accomplish this in 34 years) the expectations were enormous. The competition consisted of some of the best American trotters, e.g. Dream Vacation, Plesac, Fool's Goal, and Magician. Varenne advanced to the lead, but Minnucci let John Campbell and Dream Vacation overtake them. Varenne was then parked outside Dream Vacation, and in the stretch, he left the opponents far behind. The winning margin was 4 ½ lengths, and with the time of 1:51.1m (European way of timing: 1:09.1m km rate), Varenne beat Self Possessed's one-mile world record by two tenths of a second. After the success, Varenne was intended to race at Meadowlands again, this time in the Nat Ray Trot. This was nit the case, and he did not make an appearance until September 22, when he won the Trot Mondial in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. In December, Varenne rounded off the year with two wins in Italy. Out of the 14 races Varenne and Minnucci participated in, they were victorious in 13. 2002 In 2001, Varenne was the first horse in 34 years to win the Prix d'Amérique, Gran Premio della Lotteria, and Elitloppet in the same year. In 2002, he became the first to win the triple two years in a row. Varenne took the lead at an early stage in Prix d'Amérique in 2002 and grabbed the second biggest prize cheque of his career: €400,000. In Gran Premio Mario Locatelli at San Siro, Milan, for the first time since his debut, Varenne was driven by a driver other than Minnucci. Finnish Jorma Kontio was chosen and won. After wins in Gran Premio