The third time was the charm for Go On Boy, who was crowned the 2025 Elitloppet champion for trainer/driver Romain Derieux on Sunday, May 25 at Solvalla Racecourse in Stockholm, Sweden.
The nine-year-old French stallion by Password out of Balginette took top honours in his third Elitloppet appearance following a dead heat runner-up finish in the 2023 final and a disqualification in last year's record edition when he broke stride in the last turn.
"Go On Boy is a champion and I really wanted him to win this race because he's a champion," said Derieux in a post-race interview. "Sometimes he's not happy all the time and today he was fantastic.
"Last year, he was disqualified in the last turn. He was not perfect at this moment, but the winner [Horsey Dream] was fantastic last year. But today, it's magnificent."
Sent postward as the odds-on favourite, Go On Boy got away among the back half in an overland trip from post four while Swedish trial winners Mellby Jinx (Mats E Djuse) and Don Fanucci Zet (Paul Philippe Ploquin) took off from the inside posts in a duel for the top spot, with the former eventually pocketing the latter as they rounded the first turn.
Hohneck (Gabriele Gelormini) reeled in the top two and raced first-over in front of the grandstand with Mellby Jinx's stablemate Borups Victory (Daniel Wäjersten) next in the outer tier and Go On Boy third-over and teetering three-wide in the backstretch between rivals.
Hohneck took over command with Borups Victory challenging him to the final turn while Go On Boy was kept three-deep when Don Fanucci Zet moved off the pylons. Go On Boy kept on going in his outside path around the final turn then opened up down the centre of the track in front of the crowd, winning 1:08.4 (1:50.1 mile rate). Don Fanucci Zet, the 2021 champion, shook loose late and re-rallied to catch Hohneck, the 2023 champion, in a photo for place.
"I don't have the words. It's incredible. I won this race with Dijon six years ago, it was a great moment, but today it's incredible," said an emotional Derieux, celebrating the victory with his son and wife.
Bred by Jean Pierre Mary and Emmanuel Pierre and owned by Ecurie Nixonn, Go On Boy extended a current streak of French trotters to win the Elitloppet to four, following victories by Etonnant, Hohneck and Horsey Dream.
Go On Boy advanced to the final, worth five million Swedish Krona (approximately $720,000 CAD), after finishing second to Mellby Jinx in the first and faster of two trials contested earlier in the day, which went in 1:08.8 (mile rate 1:50.4).
Canadian representative Logan Park and driver Doug McNair finished eighth in that trial and did not advance to the final.
"Although we had no luck on the track today, it was an experience everyone should be lucky enough to have," Rob Fellows, trainer of Logan Park, told Trot Insider after the trial. "Thank you to all that cheered and supported us."
Etonnant, the 2022 champion who finished sixth in the day's first trial, was retired by trainer Richard Westerink after being paraded in front of the crowd a final time.
(Standardbred Canada)
Posts Drawn For 2025 Elitloppet Final
The finalists and post positions for the 2025 Elitloppet have been determined following the two trials contested on Sunday, May 25 at Solvalla Racecourse in Stockholm, Sweden.
Swedish trotter Mellby Jinx led all the way to win the first elimination heat in 1:08.8 (mile rate 1:50.4) for driver Mats E Djuse and trainer Daniel Wäjersten. The homebred seven-year-old Ready Cash-Heavens Door gelding is owned by Mellby Gård AB.
Favourite Francesco Zet (Örjan Kihlström), another Swedish representative to advance, rallied three-wide off cover turning for home and was just edged out in the race for place by France's Go On Boy (Romain Derieux), who closed to his outside, and Sweden's A Fair Day (Oscar Ginman) inside off a pocket trip.
The Rob Fellows-trained Canadian representative, Logan Park, raced fourth-over most of the way for driver Doug McNair and finished eighth.
The second elimination heat was won by the front-striding Daniel Redén trainee Don Fanucci Zet and driver Paul Philippe Ploquin in 1:10.1 (mile rate 1:52.4) for owner Stall Zet. The nine-year-old Hard Livin-Kissed By The West stallion previously won the Elitloppet in 2021.
Another Swedish rep, favourite Borups Victory (Daniel Wäjersten), secured the runner-up honours with a three-wide rally heading into the homestretch. France's past champion Hohneck (Gabriele Gelormini) took third from the pocket and Finland's Massimo Hoist (Hannu Torvinen) was fourth off a ground-saving trip.
The top four trotters from each trial will face off in the final of the Elitloppet, competing for a purse of five million Swedish Krona (approximately $720,000 CAD) later today in race 11, with an approximate post time of 11:45 a.m. (EDT). Post positions were drawn and are listed below.
2025 Elitloppet
Post - Horse (Country) - Driver - Trainer
1. Mellby Jinx (Sweden) - Mats E Djuse - Daniel Wäjersten
2. Don Fanucci Zet (Sweden) - Paul Philippe Ploquin - Daniel Redén
3. Borups Victory (Sweden) - Daniel Wäjersten - Daniel Wäjersten
4. Go On Boy (France) - Romain Derieux - Romain Derieux
5. Hohneck (France) - Gabriele Gelormini - Philippe Allaire
6. A Fair Day (Sweden) - Oscar Ginman - Elisabeth Almheden
7. Francesco Zet (Sweden) - Örjan Kihlström - Daniel Redén
8. Massimo Hoist (Finland) - Hannu Torvinen - Jukka Hakkarainen
To watch the Elitloppet feed, courtesy ATG and DRF, click the following link: 2025 Elitloppet Live Stream. Canadian racing fans can also watch and wager on the Elitloppet on HPItv and HPIbet.com. Standardbred Canada will provide updates here. Click here for an Elitloppet program.
(Standardbred Canada)