Winning driver Eric Raffin had a tremendous afternoon as a French horse won Sweden’s biggest race for the third straight year.

by Thomas Hedlund

Solvalla’s Elitloppet is very special and Sunday’s (May 26) edition was even more spectacular than usual as French trotter Horsy Dream recorded a European record mile of 1:49.2 in his second and deciding heat of the day. Despite several favorites going down in defeat, on a warm, sunny Sunday, Solvalla was the place where every harness racing fan wanted to be.

The first elimination appeared spectacular on paper, but unison disappointment was spread over Solvalla when French favorite Idao de Tillard made a break 100 meters into the race after some minor interference from inside horse A Fair Day.

Driver Clement Duvaldestin tried to lift Idao de Tillard inside from post 8, but A Fair Day’s driver Oscar Ginman had the same thought and when A Fair Day hesitated and made a break, the margins were too small and Idao de Tillard touched the wheel of Oscar Ginman’s bike.

Idao de Tillard was basically out of the race at that point, but continued on third on the inside up the backstretch. He crossed the wire, but failed to grab a spot in the final.

Speculation before the race pondered a front-running tactic from driver Björn Goop behind Alessandro Gocciadoro-trained Denver Gio and that was what happened when the race began. Don Fanucci Zet, the first choice in the race, had to settle first over and that became too tough a trip.

Denver Gio held his pace in front and in the last turn Romain Derieux attacked three wide with Go On Boy (Password) with Italian Capital Mail following on his back. Go On Boy, last year’s runner up in Elitloppet, was outstanding in this elimination and the 8-year-old French trotter won in 1:50.3, ahead of Capital Mail, Denver Gio and Önas Prince.

With the two favorites (Idao de Tillard and Don Fanucci Zet) out of contention, excitement grew heading into the second Elitloppet heat.

Francesco Zet was the big Swedish hope this year, He came into the race with 18 consecutive wins. But he failed to challenge the two top French trotters Horsy Dream (Scipion du Goutier) and Hohneck. Horsy Dream, handled by French driver Eric Raffin, had to race three wide during the race’s first 550 meters before he landed outside of the leader, Decision Maker. Horsy Dream sat first over with Gaspar de Brion behind him, Hohneck third over and Francesco Zet on his back. Those were the leaders as the field entered the backstretch and the pace was slower compared to the first elimination, which meant that Hohneck and Francesco Zet — along with Borups Victory (fifth over) — had to do some heavy work three wide the last half-mile.

Hohneck left third over before the last turn, Francesco Zet followed easily behind him and when the eight horses turned for home, Francesco Zet looked like the winner. But Horsy Dream, trained by Pierre Belloche, proved too strong in the second elimination and even Hohneck had his head ahead of Francesco Zet at the wire.

Borups Victory, owned by former Toronto Maple Leafs star Mats Sundin, finished extremely well in fourth.

The time of the mile was 1:51 for Horsy Dream. The interesting thing about the draw for the final was that neither Go On Boy nor Horsy Dream like post 1 behind the gate, so the runners-up had a chance to pick the inside spot. And so it was. The connections of title defender Hohneck picked post 1. The two elimination winners played it safe by choosing number 2 and 3, respectively.

The final field was drawn as follows:

1. Hohneck

2. Go On Boy

3. Horsy Dream

4. Capital Mail

5. Denver Gio

6. Francesco Zet

7. Borups Victory

8. Önas Prince

The final started with a very quick opening from Denver Gio and Goop — a fact that driver Örjan Kihlström and trainer Daniel Redén had in mind during the draw. Redén opted for post 6 instead of 5 with Francesco Zet and the 6-year-old Father Patrick son attacked for the lead in the first turn as the French horses from inside posts opened with only moderate speed.

Early on, Francesco Zet was on the lead, Önas Prince was on the outside, Denver Gio was in the pocket and Horsy Dream was second over. The field then settled with Sweden’s big hope on the lead. Kihlström looked comfortable as he slowed down the pace a bit after a quick opening, but French horses are hard to beat — everywhere it seems — and when Raffin attacked three wide with Horsy Dream, the rest of the field looked like they were standing still.

Horsy Dream easily passed Önas Prince before the last turn, and did the same with Francesco Zet 100 meters later and basically disappeared from his opponents down the stretch.

Raffin has been close to winning Elitloppet before, but he has never made it all the way. This time he sat behind an outstanding horse who won in a jaw-dropping 1:49.2 considering it was the horse’s second race of the day.

Borups Victory finished well after a ground-saving trip for driver Daniel Wäjersten and the quick ending resulted in a runner-up performance, many lengths behind the winner. Denver Gio finished third for Goop, Francesco Zet was fourth and Hohneck finished fifth.

The expectations were huge before this Sunday and Elitloppet became a great show where the audience was treated to a winner that was superior to most previous winners in the history of the race.

It was the first time Horsy Dream’s trainer Belloche has campaigned a horse in Sweden and he also tried to learn some English before the trip, just in case he would end up in a situation where the language could be useful.

“This is a dream and the horse is a superstar,” said Belloche after the race. “I don’t even think that Eric [Raffin] pulled the ear plugs.”

Raffin had a pretty nice day at work at Solvalla. He had four wins, including Elitloppet elimination and final and the Montéeliten racing under saddle event.

French horses continued their dominance in Europe’s biggest races. Horsy Dream’s Elitloppet victory means that France has won three-straight times in Solvalla’s greatest race.

And it’s not impossible that Idao de Tillard could have been the winner, if it wasn’t for that tight situation.

And, before we forget, Saturday’s (May 25) $193,000 Harper Hanovers Race, the postponed race over three laps, was also won by a French trotter. Philippe Allaire’s Izoard Vedaquais (Bird Parker) proved stronger than the rest as he came home in an impressive mile rate of 1:55.3 over 3,140 meters. Vive la France, as usual.

RAFFIN ALSO WINS BREEDERS COURSE FOR FILLIES

Raffin also jumped up in the bike behind Danny Brouwer-trained Oriana Boko (Father Patrick) in the $193,000 Breeders Course final for 3-year-old fillies and despite post 10 behind horses, Raffin succeeded in giving his horse a trip ending in victory.

And Oriana Boko could thank the leading favorite Filadonna, who was pushed to the front position after the half-mile by Gocciadoro and the pace was set at a high level. The speed in the race helped Raffin, who had placed Oriana Boko fourth on the outside. That’s where he started his attack with a half-mile to go.

With the victory assured, Raffin cheered to the spectators shortly before the finish line.

When top drivers from foreign countries show their joy of competing and winning at Solvalla on this weekend, it’s one of many things that makes Elitloppet so special.

The mile rate for Oriana Boko was 1:56 over 1.3 miles.

In the $193,000 Breeders Course final for colts and geldings, Kihlström made a move midway into the race behind Gocciadoro’s Fellow Wise As (Maharajah). Kihlström opted for a position first over instead of second over and that turned out to be a winning move. Fellow Wise As disarmed leader Far Wise As in the last turn and held Feldenkrais Pal behind him in an attractive stretch duel. Fellow Wise As won in a mile rate of 1:56.2 over 1.3 miles.

Fellow Wise As would later see his older brother Expo Wise As trying to make the family even more proud in the Fyraåringseliten for 4-year-old colts and geldings.

HAGOORT AND BAKKER RARELY LEAVE SOLVALLA EMPTY-HANDED

Trainer Paul Hagoort and driver Robin Bakker like to show up when big money is handed out in European races and in the $95,000 Delicious’ Race, Fyraåringseliten for mares, Bakker sat behind favorite Ester Degli Dei (Maharajah) and the duo had to face post 7 with several quick-opening horses on their inside. 

Gigi Hanover, new to Daniel Wäjersten’s stable, was quick behind the gate and Wäjersten opted to let Karaboudjan overtake the lead after 600 meters. Ester Degli Dei had no luck with her trip. Bakker had to settle far back in the field and when he tried the attack up the backstretch, opponents had the same thought, so Ester Degli Dei had plenty of ground to catch up on.

She solved the task via an impressive finish far outside. Hagoort’s mare won in 1:51.4.

The boys’ battle in the $95,000 Fyraåringseliten for 4-year-olds had a big favorite in Gocciadoro’s Expo Wise As, who dominated in several big races in Europe as a 3-year-old. From post 9, behind horses, Gocciadoro took an early choice leaving third over for position outside of leader Holcombe Zet. Crown, with merits from the U.S. then rested second over and when Erik Adielsson attacked three wide at the top of the stretch, Crown accelerated quickly and seemed to sprint to the win. But between horses from the pocket, Magnus Teien Gundersen got Devilish Hill (Muscle Hill) in the right gear and his debut on European soil couldn’t have ended better. Devilish Hill exploded when space appeared shortly before the wire and Gundersen beamed with happiness when he noted that his horse put his nose first. The mile was 1:51.2 for the American-bred winner. Crown was second and Holcombe Zet third.