2024 Elitloppet

May 26, 2023 - Trotting, 1,609 meters, Solvalla, Sweden

Preview from May 22, 2024

A clash of titans will take place in this year's Elitloppet. But there are not only Idao de Tillard, probably the best trotter of the world, and Sweden's superstar Francesco Zet. The 'Sprint World Championship of Trotting' is a very special event with two races on one day, where many things can happen.

1st Heat :

1 - Denver Gio arrives from Italy to the 2024 Elitloppet. The reason for his invitation should have been his impressive performance in the first heat of the Gran Premio della Lotteria at Naples on May 1. He had won this heat wire-to-wire against the later final-winner Capital Mail, who he will now face again at Solvalla. The five-year-old colt completed several races in Sweden already, won three of them. Due to his tremendous take-off speed, he might get the lead from position 1 and could even reach the final, while every thing else would be a major surprise.

2 - Don Fanucci Zet won the final of the 2021 Elitloppet in a time of 1:08,9, but could not really build on that big triumph the time after. The eight-year-old, who is bred by Daniel Redén himself, has found back to form this season again, won the Onions Lopp and the Meadow Roads Lopp over the mile at Solvalla, why he cannot be ignored.

3 - Go On Boy came third in the Elitloppet final last year and seems even stronger now. He finished only third in the Critérium de Vitesse on March 10, but was fourth in the Prix d'Amérique and came runner-up in the Prix de France, though he had to start from the second row and ran with a flat tyre. Not for the first time, he had problems at the start in the Prix de l’Atlantique, then even got disqualified.

4 - Joviality won the Svenskt Trav-Derby against the colts last year and came third in the Prix d'Amérique. With this achievements, the five-year-old mare must be on the Elitloppet shortlist. The daughter of Chapter Seven had started her career in the United States, where she won twenty times over the mile.

5 - Capital Mail won the 75th Gran Premio della Lotteria against international opponents and promptly got a ticket to the 2024 Elitloppet. The runner-up of the 2021 Derby Italiano had mostly been running in France the recent years, where he did not make an appearance in the big races.

6 - Önas Prince has just proved his class again by winning the Paralympiatravet at Åby by five length. The seven-year-old colt, who is known for his quick starts, was already fourth in the final of last year's Elitloppet, had won the Copenhagen Cup before. Afterwards, he could not start for eight months due to an injury, returned to the racetrack with a victory in the Algot Scotts Minne on April 6.

7 - A Fair Day gets prepared by the 69-year-old amateur trainer Elisabeth Almheden, who has only two horses in her stable. Driver is the rather unknown Oscar Ginman. Her five-year-old son of Maharajah won 13 of his 26 starts and was clocked 1:09,4 when won the Prins Carl Philips Jubileumspokal over 1.640 Meter on March 29. Last year, he had won the Breeders’ Crown final.

8 - Idao de Tillard is to be said the world's best trotting horse at present, and will most likely enter the 2024 Elitloppet as favourite, though he has not drawn the best starting position. This year, he already won the Prix d'Amérique and the Prix de France, both races by a large margin. His trainer Thierry Duvaldestin assumes, his six-year-old son of Séverino will get along well with the tight, slanted Swedish racetracks. So far Idao de Tillard has not run outside of France, so it will be exciting to watch him in the North of Europe. At his last test, he finished only third in the Prix des Ducs de Normandie on May 11, but had a difficult race and certainly did not go to his limit.

2nd Heat :

1 - Hustle Rain represents the colors of Denmark in the 2024 Elitloppet. He won the Sprintermästaren at Halmstad last year and proved that he has no problems with two races on one day. At his last start, the Åke Sundbergs Lopp on May 3, he passed the line six lengths behind Francesco Zet.

2 - Hohneck returns to Solvalla as title defender. He succeeded in last year's Elitloppet and won the final of the UET Elite Circuit on the same track in October. No doubt, the seven-year-old son of Royal Dream has international class, but he did not appear at his best during the Paris Winter Meeting. However, Hohneck rather prefers the sprint distances anyway and has shown, he copes with the Solvalla racetrack. A positive sign was his second place in the Prix de l’Atlantique on April 20, afterwards he ended fourth in the Ducs de Normandie.

3 - Gaspar De Brion, trained by Matthieu Abrivard, got an Elitloppet ticket after he had come runner-up in the Prix des Ducs de Normandie ahead of Idao de Tillard and Hohneck. Despite several group 2 and 3 victories, the eight-year-old gelding has not yet started on the highest level and can only surprise on his first race outside France.

4 - Horsy Dream had been the 2023 Prix d'Amérique favourite and won the Prix de Séléction the same year, but could not get this form to the new year, did not even qualify for the 2024 Amérique. Meanwhile, the seven-year-old French colt attracted attention again by winning the Prix de l’Atlantique with six length and a new race record.

5 - Francesco Zet is something like the Swedish Idao de Tillard. He is also six years old, cannot find adversary in his age group, won 22 of his 24 starts. He has not run outside his homeland either, faced older opponents only twice. Francesco Zet had a huge break since August last year, returned to the racetrack not before May 3, when he easily won the Åke Sundbergs Lopp at Rättvik against weak opposition. Therefore, it is not really possible to value his current form.

6 - Decision Maker is one of the biggest outsiders in the 2024 Elitloppet, although she won ten of her last twelve starts. The five-year-old mare has not been seen often in the bigger races, but might be able to surprise. Trainer Stefan Melander said about his daughter of Nuncio, he would not know, how strong she is.

7 - Borups Victory is another rather unknown colt, who should not be underestimated, and that's not only because he won his last three races, including the Seinäjoki Ajo at Finland. The quick starting son of Googoo Gaagaa, whose co-proprietor is ice hockey star Mats Sundin, got only beaten by Francesco Zet in last year's Margareta Wallenius-Klebergs Pokal and also came runner-up in the Sundsvall Open Trot.

8 - Bengurion Jet is the third horse from Italy. He gained attention in Sweden already back in 2021, when was clocked in 1:08,8 (1.640 m) at Jägersro. Last year, the seven-year-old colt came runner-up in the Åby Stora Pris and won the Sweden Cup over the sprinting distance. Most recently he finished only fourth as favourite in the Paralympiatravet.


Antepost-odds for the 2024 Elitloppet can be found at Racebets.

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