Don Fanucci Zet makes it look easy again

by Thomas Hedlund

Don Fanucci Zet was handed nothing for free in Saturday’s (Aug. 22) $195,000 Kymi Grand Prix in Finland. It didn’t matter.

The 10-year-old star once again made top-class competition look easy for Örjan Kihlström.

“He won very easily and I didn’t even have to pull the ear plugs,” Kihlström said.

And then came a description that perhaps sums up Don Fanucci Zet better than anything else.

“Every time he races, he makes it look like he’s just playing around,” Kihlström said. “It’s incredible. The first 700 or 800 meters were tough, but he’s a tough horse. He can handle almost anything. I think if you took him to the moon, he’d probably perform well there, too. He simply does his best under any circumstances.”

Don Fanucci Zet (Hard Livin—Kissed By The West) was caught three-wide early before eventually taking command from Mellby Joker with 1,400 meters remaining. Working Class Hero moved up on his outside and applied serious pressure down the final backstretch.

But the challenger was the first to surrender.

The Daniel Redén-trained Don Fanucci Zet remained strong on the front and drew away comfortably to win in a 1:54 mile rate for 2,100 meters.

“Gocciadoro put quite a bit of pressure on us with Working Class Hero for a while, but ‘Don Fanucci’ felt very strong,” Kihlström said. “Around the final turn, I felt we had the race under control. This horse is absolutely incredible.”

Daniel Wäjersten trainee Mellby Joker (Muscle Hill) finished second from the pocket for Olli Koivunen, while Combat Fighter (From Above) narrowly held third over the fast-closing Luke The Spook (Greenshoe) and Adrian Kolgjini.

Don Fanucci Zet has now won six of eight starts this season. His career résumé stands at 39 victories from 74 starts and more than SEK 26 million in earnings.

At 10, he continues to win — and continues to charm racing fans throughout Europe.

THAI MEDINA DOES IT AGAIN IN E3 FINAL

The $300,000 E3 final for 3-year-old fillies at Romme turned into a speed show Saturday (Aug. 22), and the result was a familiar one.

Thai Medina won the long-distance E3 final earlier this summer. Now she has added the short-distance version, giving trainer/driver Björn Goop his third E3 victory of 2026.

And she did it while equaling the Swedish record.

Thai Medina (Face Time Bourbon) couldn’t protect the rail against Cruiser in the opening battle and instead settled into the pocket behind the favorite.

Cruiser was forced into a demanding opening kilometer as pressure came in waves from Intesa Ek and Rosie Bros through the middle stages. The repeated moves also made life difficult for the horses racing at the back of the field, who never really found a smooth path into the race.

Morning Rain (Face Time Bourbon), runner-up in the long E3 final, found herself next-to-last in the outer flow before Daniel Wäjersten launched his attack around the final turn.

Behind her came Global Halo (Ready Cash), who was forced as wide as six-wide on the final turn before Joakim Lövgren turned her loose in the stretch.

Both flew home. But the race had already opened up perfectly for Thai Medina.

Goop found room from the pocket at the top of the stretch, and Cruiser was beginning to feel the effects of the demanding pace. Thai Medina did the rest, capturing her second E3 final of the season in a 1:53.4 mile rate, equaling the Swedish record.

“You almost have to pinch yourself,” Goop said. “We’ve changed things in the stable so that each caretaker now has six horses instead of eight, and it has produced results. This filly has the right attitude. She’s not very big, but she fights.

“Originally, the plan was to try to protect the lead, but after the post parade I felt it would be better not to force things. With 400 or 500 meters to go, it looked like things might open up for us, although I didn’t know how much Johan had left with the leader.”

Morning Rain finished second, while Global Halo’s huge late rally earned her third.

STEADY SPENDER EQUALS SWEDISH RECORD

Steady Spender delivered an authoritative wire-to-wire performance in the colts and geldings division of Saturday’s $300,000 E3 final.

Magnus A. Djuse protected the rail without too much difficulty behind the Eric Martinsson trainee, helped in part by the outside horses keeping each other parked approaching the opening turn.

“Everybody left pretty well, actually, and that might have helped us win the battle for the lead,” Djuse said. “This is a damn good horse, and I’m convinced we’re going to see him in more major races. He felt great the entire way, and when we turned for home, I knew I still had plenty of horse.”

Favorite Zarajevo Games made a break during that early battle, while In The Wind Gar (Captain Corey) eventually advanced to race first-over down the backstretch.

The pace remained solid throughout, but Steady Spender (Readly Express) appeared to have his rivals under control around the final turn.

Djuse barely had to ask him for more in the stretch.

Steady Spender simply kept rolling and captured the E3 final in a stakes-record 1:53.2 mile rate, also equaling the Swedish record.

City Slicker (King City) and Claes Sjöström produced an eye-catching rally from well back to finish second, with In The Wind Gar third.

NAYA D’ERONVILLE SWEEPS PAST FAVORITES IN YEARLING CUP

For much of Saturday’s (Aug. 22) $165,000 Yearling Cup at Vincennes, the race appeared to belong to the two favorites controlling things up front.

Instead, a Thierry Duvaldestin-trained filly stole the show.

Nob Hill (Gu d’Heripre) and Mathieu Mottier took command in the €150,000 event for 3-year-olds, while favorite Neo de Joudes (Django Riff) settled first-over.

That gave Théo Duvaldestin a perfect second-over trip with Naya d’Eronville (Hohneck). The pace was modest, seemingly tilting the advantage toward the two horses up front. When the field turned for home, Neo de Joudes began applying serious pressure to Nob Hill and the race appeared set to become a battle between the favorites.

Then Naya d’Eronville was tipped out. She exploded.

The filly accelerated past both favorites well before the wire to win decisively in a 2:00.1 mile rate for 2,700 meters. Neo de Joudes finished second and Nob Hill held third.

The time itself should be viewed with some caution. Vincennes underwent extensive track renovations during the summer, and the surface has yet to reach its optimal condition, making current times difficult to compare with historical performances.

“They didn’t go particularly fast, and that helped her,” Thierry Duvaldestin said. “It wasn’t really a speed race, which suited her. But when it was time to go, she showed that she can really move.

“They picked up the pace at one point, but there was also a part of the race where they went very slowly, so she was perfectly positioned behind the favorite. Really, she had the best trip in the race and benefited from the moderate tempo. When it came down to a short sprint, she finished very well.

“Early on she could be a little difficult and immature, but she’s become much easier to handle and has improved as a racehorse. She’s also racing barefoot now, and that’s working well.”