A star-studded group is poised to face off in the 2024 edition of the Elitloppet on Sunday at Solvalla Racecourse in Stockholm, Sweden. Two eliminations were drawn on Sunday, and the top four finishers from each of those events will come back later on the program to crown the champion.
While the race is being billed primarily as the first showdown between Prix d'Amerique champion Idao De Tillard and 2022 Swedish Horse of the Year Francesco Zet, who is riding an 18-race win streak, they are far from the only contenders, as the field also includes defending Elitloppet champion Hohneck, last year's runner-up Go On Boy, 2021 winner Don Fanucci Zet and 2023 Swedish Horse of the Year and former Dan Patch Award winner Joviality.
For Idao De Tillard, who will try and become the first horse since the legendary Varenne in 2002 to win both the Prix d'Amerique and the Elitloppet in the same year, the lead-up to the Elitloppet didn't go exactly to plan as a bout of illness forced trainer Thierry Duvaldestin to change his schedule. He was third in his prep race, the Group 2 Prix des Ducs de Normandie at Caen on May 11, his first defeat in nine appearances. Duvaldestin was still pleased with how he performed, though.
"It was a slightly chaotic race in Caen, but the horse was good. We were satisfied," he said. "What bothered me was that it wasn't what I had planned for him. I wanted to start in the Prix de l'Atlantique to test him behind the [starting] car again, something I thought was very important. We wanted to compete at Enghien, a track with slightly tighter curves and more similar to Solvalla. But the horse got sick. We had to change our plans and start in Caen instead, and it's a track that measures 2,000 meters and has right turns - the exact opposite of Solvalla. That's what bothers me about the horse's preparation."
This will be Idao De Tillard's maiden voyage outside France, and a post eight draw in his elimination added another complication, but Duvaldestin said that he is looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead.
"I don't see Idao de Tillard as a favorite. Hohneck will be great and Francesco Zet is our [fear]," he remarked. "We have to dare a little. It's a risk we're taking, because we don't know if he'll enjoy the track. But if we just stay at home and get comfortable, we also never expose ourselves to any risks. He won't get fired up, he'll stay calm all day. Then he is fast behind the car too, maybe not as fast as the Swedish horses, but he is fast. If it had been at Vincennes, we would have been more confident, but I like the Elitloppet, everyone does. It's a great race, two heats and high tension.
"It is that he is not used to competing on small tracks, the horse likes the big tracks like Vincennes. Then, how will he take the corners at that speed? It's full speed all the way. But we have to try, we'll see how it goes on Sunday," added Duvaldestin on the questions Idao de Tillard must answer going into the Elitloppet.
As mentioned above, Idao De Tillard has the outside post eight for driver Clement Duvaldestin in his elimination, the first of the two on Sunday (race six). Drawn to his inside are Don Fanucci Zet (post two, Magnus A. Djuse), Go On Boy (post three, Romain Derieux) and Joviality (post four, Erik Adielsson). Don Fanucci Zet comes into Sunday off two wins in prep races, and Joviality, who was third to Idao De Tillard in the Prix d'Amerique, also won her prep. Go On Boy broke stride in the Prix de l'Atlantique at Enghien last time out, but has to be respected given his performances at Solvalla a year ago.
"Joviality has trained well after the win in Umeå and trainer Sabine Kagebrant is happy with her. Perhaps she should have had one more race before this to maximize form," admitted Joviality's owner Anders Ström. "This is a very good edition of Elitloppet – she is 25-1 in the betting – and I cross my fingers we can get a good trip and 3rd place or better in the elim so we can avoid post seven and eight in the final. Then anything can happen."
"He is in a good phase now. I ran a really sharp [workout] with him today [May 20] and he [acted] very well when I asked. Last year he was too heavy," said trainer Daniel Redén, who felt Don Fanucci Zet would be in full form for his elimination effort and didn't rule out changes if he made the final. "He'll go with shoes in the front for the trial. If he goes to the final, there may be talk of barefoot all around. Otherwise, there will be no changes."
The second elimination is headlined by Redén's Francesco Zet, who will depart from post five for driver Örjan Kihlström. Francesco Zet, who is a 6-year-old stallion by Father Patrick, is out of the Credit Winner mare Shaqline, a daughter of Credit Winner who raced in the U.S. for Jimmy Takter in 2014 and 2015. She won in the New York Sire Stakes as both a 2- and 3-year-old and was second in the Kentuckiana Stallion Management as a freshman.
Francesco Zet had one prep race for the Elitloppet at the Rättvik track in Sweden on May 3 and won handily in 1:52 4/5. Since then Redén has been putting him through the paces in training for the test that awaits on Sunday.
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"He has felt both better and smoother all the time and everything has gone according to plan. Last week he had five heavy intervals, and this week we started today [May 20] with me doing like Fanucci, pushing him hard in the last interval to see that the speed was there. It did that, and more besides, so it feels like we're in pretty good shape with both Elite racehorses," said Redén. "He has never shown the really explosive starting speed, so it is good that he starts a bit out. The idea is that we ride like last time, with shoes all around, possibly with slightly lighter boots until then. He has raced so much with shoes in the back and done very well, so I don't know if I dare to risk that there won't be any hoof left for a possible final."
A pair of France's best are slotted inside of Francesco Zet in his elimination (race 7), as Hohneck landed post two for driver Gabriele Gelormini and Horsy Dream has post four for driver Eric Raffin. Horsy Dream and Hohneck both come out of the Prix de l'Atlantique, where Horsy Dream was the winner and Hohneck came in second. Another horse to consider in this elimination is Bengurion Jet, who drew the eight hole but won the Sweden Cup over the track last year for trainer/driver Alessandro Gocciadoro.
Post time for the elimination races are 9:28 A.M. (EDT) and 9:55 A.M. (EDT), with the final at 11:45 A.M. (EDT).
Solvalla - Race 6 (9:28 AM EDT) - Elitloppet Elimination #1
Post-Horse-Driver-Trainer
1-Denver Gio-Björn Goop-Alessandro Gocciadoro
2-Don Fanucci Zet–Magnus A. Djuse-Daniel Redén
3-Go On Boy-Romain Derieux driver/trainer
4-Joviality-Erik Adielsson-Sabine Kagebrant
5-Capital Mail–Antonio di Nardo-Gennaro Casillo
6-Ônas Prince-Per Nordström driver/trainer
7-A Fair Day-Oscar Ginman-Elisabeth Almheden
8-Idao de Tillard-Clement Duvaldestin-Thierry Duvaldestin
Solvalla - Race 7 (9:55 AM EDT) - Elitloppet Elimination #2
Post-Horse-Driver-Trainer
1-Hustle Rain-Mats E. Djuse-Mattias Djuse
2-Hohneck–Gabriele Gelormini-Philippe Allaire
3-Gaspar de Brion-Matthieu Abrivard driver/trainer
4-Horsy Dream–Eric Raffin-Pierre Belloche
5-Francesco Zet-Örjan Kihlström-Daniel Redén
6-Decision Maker-Carl Johan Jepson-Stefan Melander
7-Borups Victory-Daniel Wäjersten driver/trainer
8-Bengurion Jet-Alessandro Gocciadoro driver/trainer
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