Diva Ek unstoppable in the Finlandia-Ajo

by Thomas Hedlund

Diva Ek, trained by Alessandro Gocciadoro, did not appear to have the ideal setup beforehand when the $200,000 Finlandia-Ajo was contested at Vermo Racetrack on Sunday (May 10), but despite racing near the back for most of the mile, she still emerged victorious when the dust settled.

Magnus A. Djuse sent Mellby Knekt, trained by Timo Nurmos, to the lead shortly after the start, while Örjan Kihlström initially landed first-over with Keep Asking (Chapter Seven) before yielding to Diamond Truppo after 400 meters.

Approaching the final half-mile, Keep Asking launched his attack, with Massimo Hoist tracking the move. One lane farther back, Gocciadoro grew impatient behind Diva Ek (Trixton—Nike Ek) and boldly fanned four-wide midway through the final turn.

Mellby Knekt was spent with 200 meters remaining, and Keep Asking appeared to have the race under control at the top of the stretch. Then Diva Ek came flying widest of all with tremendous momentum. Over the final 100 meters at Vermo she wore down Keep Asking in a stirring duel and surged past to win in 1:53 flat.

Keep Asking was second in the same time, while Gio Cash (Victor Gio), who had been buried fifth-over before launching a sweeping late move, finished third — also in 1:53. Gio Cash closed ferociously, but unfortunately for both him and Keep Asking, only the winner earned the coveted berth into Elitloppet.

“I’m so happy — now she’s in the race,” said Gocciadoro, naturally referring to Elitloppet invitation. “Why shouldn’t she be able to win the Elitloppet? Sure, she’ll need some racing luck, but now she’s in the field.”

BORUPS VICTORY HANDLES WEAKENED E-SERIES FIELD

The fifth E-series qualifier toward Elitloppet was held at Solvalla on Wednesday (May 13), but the field had lost much of its shine after Don Fanucci Zet was scratched earlier in the evening.

Trainer Daniel Redén withdrew the 10-year-old due to track conditions, and with the son of Hard Livin already guaranteed a place in Elitloppet — while also leading the E-series standings beyond reach — the scratch carried no consequences for his qualification hopes.

Still, the race became somewhat anticlimactic and appeared tailor-made for the already invited Borups Victory (Googoo Gaagaa), trained and driven by Daniel Wäjersten.

Borups Victory raced with what was essentially a training setup and was far from peak condition, yet still managed to grind down a brave Hades de Vandel (Ganymede), who had done the heavy lifting first-over throughout. Borups Victory stopped the timer in 1:52.4, finishing with a blistering final half-mile in :54.2.

ELITLOPPET PICTURE CONTINUES TO TAKE SHAPE

Dream Mine (Maharajah), trained by Jörgen Westholm, received an Elitloppet invitation on Saturday (May 9), while Diva Ek punched her ticket via the Finlandia-Ajo. Don Fanucci Zet is already safely qualified, and now only two E-series races remain before the final participant is determined. Before then, however, Solvalla still has more invitations to distribute. Three additional wild cards remain, along with the final E-series qualifier behind Don Fanucci Zet.

HORSES QUALIFIED OR INVITED FOR ELITLOPPET

A Fair Day — Sweden (invited)

Allegiant — Sweden (invited)

Borups Victory — Sweden (invited)

Diva Ek — Italy (won Finlandia-Ajo)

Don Fanucci Zet — Sweden (not yet invited, but will win the E-series)

Dream Mine — Sweden (invited)

Go On Boy — France (invited)

Idao de Tillard — France (invited)

Inexess Bleu — France (invited)

Jabalpur — France (invited)

Jobspost — Sweden (invited)

Massimo Hoist — Finland (invited)

GOCCIADORO STRIKES TWICE IN ITALY

Within the span of 15 minutes, Alessandro Gocciadoro added two more Group-level victories to his résumé. At Modena Racetrack Sunday (May 10), Ideal Turdance captured the $190,000 Gran Premio Tito Giovanardi.

Driven by Antonio di Nardo, Ideal Turdance (El Ideal—Chimera Jet) was unable to protect the rail but settled into the pocket behind leader Il Trio Jet. By the final backstretch the race had become a two-horse affair, and Di Nardo waited until 200 meters from home before angling Ideal Turdance off the rail. In a sharp finish, the son of El Ideal powered past Il Trio Jet (Wishing Stone) to score in 1:57.2 over 2,080 meters.

The victory was the sixth straight for Ideal Turdance, whose résumé already includes the Group III Gran Premio Italia.

Shortly afterward, Gocciadoro and Di Nardo teamed up again as Ingrid Am (El Ideal—Connemara As) captured the $75,000 Gran Premio Carlo Cacciari for 3-year-old fillies.

Racing first-over throughout, Ingrid Am pulled clear in the stretch to win by approximately 1½ lengths in a new stakes record of 1:56 flat, shaving one-tenth off the previous mark. Irma Ferm (The Bank) chased gamely from the outside but had to settle for second in the Group II event.