Lazy Dust cruises in Danish Trotting Derby, Francesco Zet retired

by Thomas Hedlund

No one could seriously challenge Johan Untersteiner and Lazy Dust in Sunday’s (Aug. 30) $250,000 Danish Trotting Derby at Charlottenlund.

“He won with the ear plugs still in, and the race almost worked out a little too perfectly for us,” Untersteiner told ATG Live afterward.

Lazy Dust (Brillantissime—Burning Rain) left quickly from behind the gate and Untersteiner put him on the front. Once there, he was allowed to dictate the pace exactly as he wanted.

“It was difficult to know how tiring the track would be, and I wanted to keep the pace slow — and that’s exactly what happened,” Untersteiner said. “When Magnus came up on the outside with Lucky Mom, I felt comfortable and realized there probably wasn’t going to be much more movement.”

Untersteiner began turning up the pressure down the final backstretch, and over the final half-mile the opposition had difficulty staying with the leader.

“The real racing started with about 700 meters to go, and at that point I felt he should be able to finish it off,” Untersteiner said. “That’s exactly what he did. I won with the earplugs still in, and that was a great feeling coming down the stretch.”

Lee Marvin (Nuncio) followed from the pocket to finish second, while Ludvig Cash (Power) finished third after a strong final 800 meters.

IDAO DE TILLARD SETS STAKES RECORD AT LA CAPELLE

Idao de Tillard did it the hard way in Sunday’s €120,000 Grand Prix Fédération Régionale du Nord at mile track La Capelle in France, racing first-over before wearing down the leader in the stretch.

For a while, it appeared Falco Killer Gar might steal the race on the front end. But Clément Duvaldestin waited until the stretch before seriously asking Idao de Tillard (Severino—America de Tillard) for his best. By midstretch, “Idao” had taken command.

He then held off Inexess Bleu, who had followed his cover for much of the race, by a neck.

“I could have taken the lead before Falco Killer Gar, but I wanted to take it a little easy and not go too fast early,” Duvaldestin said. “Then the acceleration came suddenly and he got a little jump on us. But Idao de Tillard kept working his way closer and really dug in at the end. He was actually more motivated today than I thought he would be.”

Idao de Tillard won in a stakes-record 1:52.2 mile rate for 1,800 meters, capturing the race for the second time.

He erased the previous record of 1:53.2, established by Horsy Dream in 2023. When Idao de Tillard won the race for the first time in 2024, he needed only a 1:56.2 mile rate.

“Throughout his career, he’s had a tendency to wait for the other horses,” Duvaldestin said. “That’s just natural for him.”

Inexess Bleu (Vittel de Brévol) was credited with the same time in second. Jingle du Pont (Niky) finished third after following Falco Killer Gar (Varenne) in the pocket, with the early leader settling for fourth.

Idao de Tillard could make his next appearance at Avenches in Switzerland, with another possible start later at Mons in Belgium.

“There are plenty of races available for Idao de Tillard, but it’s also about keeping him in good form,” Duvaldestin said. “We’re trying to race him regularly without asking too much of him.”

FRANCESCO ZET RETIRED AFTER INJURY

After 50 starts and 33 victories, the career of one of Sweden’s greatest trotters is over. Francesco Zet has been retired.

The Daniel Redén-trained champion suffered an injury in his final start, the Åby Stora Pris, and the damage was serious enough to bring his brilliant six-season racing career to an end.

“It’s difficult news for all of us who have had the privilege of living close to him, working with him, and following him through a journey unlike any other,” Redén wrote.

There was no doubt about Francesco Zet’s standing within Redén’s powerful stable.

“Francesco Zet isn’t simply one of the many fantastic horses who have passed through Stall Zet,” Redén wrote. “He’s the greatest horse we’ve ever had.”

Francesco Zet finished second in the short-distance E3 final late in the summer of 2021 before announcing himself as a superstar one month later with a victory in the Swedish Trotting Kriterium.

His 4-year-old campaign was flawless: nine starts, nine victories, and SEK 9 million in earnings. The highlight was his victory in the Swedish Trotting Derby, but he also completed a feat not accomplished in 34 years by sweeping the three major Swedish classics for 4-year-old males — the Konung Gustaf V:s Pokal, Sprintermästaren, and Swedish Trotting Derby.

His 5-year-old season consisted of only four starts, but included million-kronor victories in the Norrbottens Stora Pris and Margareta Wallenius-Klebergs Pokal before he established himself among Europe’s older elite at 6.

Among the many highlights were two world records: a 1:51.3 mile rate for 2,140 meters in the 2024 Sundsvall Open Trot and 1:54.2 for 2,640 meters in last year’s Swedish Championship.

On 13 occasions, Francesco Zet earned a seven-figure prize in Swedish kronor.

FRANCESCO ZET’S MAJOR VICTORIES:

• 2021: $800,000 Swedish Trotting Kriterium; $320,000 Breeders Crown, 3-year-old colts and geldings.

• 2022: $200,000 Konung Gustaf V:s Pokal; $120,000 Prix Readly Express; $240,000 Sprintermästaren; $800,000 Swedish Trotting Derby; $320,000 Breeders Crown, 4-year-old colts and geldings.

• 2023: $60,000 Berth Johanssons Memorial; $200,000 Norrbottens Stora Pris; $20,000 Victory Tillys Lopp; $200,000 Margareta Wallenius-Klebergs Pokal.

• 2024: $20,000 Bergslagsloppet; $200,000 Norrbottens Stora Pris; $200,000 Sundsvall Open Trot. He also finished second in the $1.1 million Åby World Grand Prix.

• 2025: $200,000 Sundsvall Open Trot; $20,000 Nuncios Lopp; $20,000 Ådalspriset; $30,000 Gävle Stora Pris; $100,000 Swedish Championship; $50,000 Gert Lindbergs Lopp.

• 2026: $300,000 Paralympiatravet.

THANK YOU, FRANCESCO ZET, FOR EVERYTHING

This column was published Tuesday (Sept. 1) on Sulkysport.se:

Everything eventually comes to an end, even a magnificent career on the racetrack.

Now it’s Francesco Zet’s turn to say goodbye to the equipment, the saddlecloths, the post parades, and — the place he knew better than almost anyone — the winner’s circle.

That’s where Francesco Zet seemed happiest. Standing in the spotlight, showing everyone that he had been the best.

Again.

Because that’s what he was so many times, almost from the very beginning. The best horse in the race.

I certainly had no idea what was coming. But when Daniel Redén told me about that 3-year-old — perhaps he was still 2 at the time — who stood out from the rest, I understood that there was probably something special developing.

The first time I saw him live was at Gävle in the short E3 final in August 2021.

That’s when a few doubts started creeping into my mind.

That habit of hitting the brakes around the final turn and giving his rivals an advantage — surely that wasn’t the behavior of a horse destined for the stars?

Those doubts disappeared later that fall when Francesco Zet won the Swedish Trotting Kriterium at Solvalla.

Maybe he hesitated just a little that day, too, but Örjan Kihlström had learned his quirks and knew what was coming. Francesco Zet swept around his rivals with almost insulting ease, racing wide around the final turn.

Had we ever seen anything quite like that in a Kriterium?

A horse effectively putting the race away three-wide with 300 meters remaining?

There was a genuine wow factor about everything we witnessed at Solvalla that day.

The rest, of course, is history.

His 4-year-old season is almost impossible to describe. Francesco Zet accomplished something no horse had done in 34 years, sweeping Sweden’s three great classics for 4-year-old males: the Konung Gustaf V:s Pokal, Sprintermästaren, and Swedish Trotting Derby.

Then he added the Breeders Crown for good measure. That race, of course, didn’t exist in 1988 when Gaston Pride dominated his generation.

For many, Francesco Zet’s defining performance will probably be his destruction of the field at Bergsåker in 2024, when he raced outside Borups Victory and simply crushed his rivals.

And yes, what he did that day was extraordinary.

But personally, I don’t think anything will ever give me quite the same feeling as his Derby victory.

Something happened inside me that day. Something almost unreal.

He deserved that Derby more than words can say. He was the unquestioned king of his generation, and when he finally put away Lulius Boko at the top of the stretch, all the emotions came pouring out.

There were the warm-up breaks that sent backside reporters racing wildly from one side of the track to the other at racetracks all over Sweden — only to receive the same answer every time: That’s just what Francesco Zet does.

There were the breathtaking performances.

The expectations.

The way he loved the camera and the spotlight.

There was Kihlström’s memorable response to an ATG Live reporter after the loss in Frances Bulwarks Race last fall.

There was his incredible rally after sitting last in this year’s Prix d’Amérique.

There was the sight of him becoming the best again on Swedish soil at Åby in May.

And, before his racing career came to its premature end, there was even time for his trainer Daniel Redén to drive him in a race himself.

Now it’s over.

Thank you, Francesco Zet, for everything!

Thomas Hedlund