Elitloppet 2015
May 31, 2015 - Trotting, 1.609 meter (1 mile), Solvalla, Sweden
Preview from May 25, 2015
It will be an exquisite selection of top trotters at this year's Elitloppet on May 31.
The Swedish hopes are on
Mosaique Face who gave a promising performance just one week ahead of the big race.
But he will face very strong opposition, especially from France, Norway and the USA.
All in all the field seems pretty balanced. And because the qualifying heats and the final
will be run on the same day, surprises are not excluded.
The defending champion
Timoko will obviously be among the favourites in this year's Elitloppet,
as he also ended third in the
Prix d’Amérique 2015
and won the Grand Prix de France afterwards. The current form of the three times Euro millionaire seems not the best though,
he got recently beaten in the Prix de l'Atlantique and also disappointed in the Prix Kerjacques,
a race he had won last year ahead of the Elitloppet.
A serious contender should be
B.B.S.Sugarlight, who is trained by amateur Peter Untersteiner in Norway.
The six-year-old whizzkid just won the Olympiatravet
wire to wire in an impressive 1:10,7, only two tenth above Nahar’s record time.
He had to start from the second row in the Copenhagen Cup afterwards,
so like expected did not finished better than ninth.
Also
Support Justice had to start from the second row in Copenhagen, ended only fifth there.
He had beaten his compatriot B.B.S.Sugarlight in the Jubileumspokalen in Solvalla last year,
also won the Championnat Européen des 5 Ans in Paris and headed as clear
favourite into the Olympiatravet. Due to some strange tactical manoeuvres he ended only fourth in Aby,
but that might change again in the Elitloppet.
With
Nuncio an excellent horse arrived from the USA. He won 16 of his 26 starts in America,
finished never worse than third, came second in the Hambletonian Stakes last year and
won the Yonkers Trot and the Kentucky Futurity, where he had to run two heats at one day too.
The four-year-old, who is trained by Stefan Melander, has meanwhile started twice in Sweden, won both times.
But that still does not necessarily mean that he will not have problems with the European style of racing when he will face the top horses,
also only one four-year-old has ever won the Elitloppet (Mack Lobell, USA, 1988).
Two recent third places in the Critérium de Vitesse and the Finlandia Ajo could indicate that
Univers De Pan will be in top form for the Elitloppet. The French Euro millionaire won the
Finlandia Ajo and the Oslo Grand Prix last year before stayed out injured for more than seven months.
In Solvalla he will start from the inside position in Heat 1.
Maven had an unlucky run at the Olympiatravet and the US-mare has actually not done particularly well in Europe
anyway. But she is a former world record holder and came sixth in the
Elitloppet 2014.
Right in time for this year's Elitloppet she now seems to have found her form,
got only beaten on the line by Robert Bi in the Copenhagen Cup, also became runner-up in the Prins Daniels Loop.
With
Wind of the North another horse from the USA will start in the Elitloppet.
The five-year-old set a world record for four-year-old geldings
over thousand meters last year (1:09,0). So far he has not started in Europe.
In his last run he came second in the Arthur Cutler Memorial in Meadowlands,
in Solvalla he will only be among the outsiders though, must start from the outside in Heat 2 too.
Bret Boko is the only trotter from Finland in this year's Elitloppet.
The quick starter just won the Finlandia Ajo wire to wire against strong opposition.
Vincennes ended second in the Finlandia Ajo, but finished very strong from a bad position.
The French mare, who was born in Sweden like Bret Boko, won the Gran Premio della Lotteria in Naples at the
beginning of May and must be seriously considered in the Elitloppet.
Ustinof Du Vivier won the above mentioned Prix Kerjacques against Timoko.
He comes to Sweden in promising form, won his last five races in France.
Another French horse is
Voltigeur De Myrt who shocked the experts by getting runner-up in the Prix d’Amérique as complete outsider.
He proved that he is not only a fleeting star when travelled to Scandinavia and became third in the
Olympiatravet and in the Copenhagen Cup too. He will have to start from the outside in Heat 2.
One week before the Elitloppet
Mosaique Face proved that he is in top form when run a new
annual world record time (1:09,0) by winning the Prins Daniels Loop in great style ahead of Maven.
Lutfi Kolgjinis charge is a quick starter who won the Sweden Cup and
the Jämtlands Stora Pris last year. He had won the Svenskt Travderby and the Grand Prix de l'UET a year before
and is now Sweden's biggest hope for the Elitloppet.
Nahar won the
Elitloppet 2013 for Sweden,
had left behind Timoko at that time. After a three month break the moody stallion just defeated Panne De Moteur in Umea
and could surprise in Solvalla on a good day.
With
Panne De Moteur a native horse was considered top favourite ahead of last year's Elitloppet.
He did not disappoint when became runner-up, but suffered from an injury since.
The above mentioned race in Umea was his first after almost a year, so there must be doubts, if he will be fit
enough for the big race.
Another Swedish horse is
On Track Piraten who won the Prix du Luxembourg in Paris in January, left B.B.S.Sugarlight behind
in an Olympiatravet qualifier as well, he will however only be outsider in the Elitloppet.
The same applies to his compatriots
Magic Tonight, who entered the Elitloppet by wining the Gulddivisjonen and
for the son of Varenne
Royal Fighter, who won the Bronsdivisionen last year.