Hohneck took the lead early and never looked back to win a record-tying Elitloppet, Sweden's premier trotting race, on Sunday, May 28 at Solvalla Race Course in Stockholm.
Trainer/owner Philippe Allaire was confident in his six-year-old Royal Dream-Caranca stallion after a second-place trial finish earlier in the day to favourite San Moteur. With a couple of equipment changes, including pulling the trotter's shoes and switching to a closed bridle, Hohneck excelled in the 2023 Elitloppet.
Driven by Gabriele Gelormini, France representative Hohneck left from the inside into second-place as the quick-leaving Önas Prince (Per Nordström) fired across. However, Hohneck quickly looped the early leader and cruised to victory, effortlessly equalling the 1,609-metre race record of 1:50.4 (1:08.9 km rate) set in 2021 by Don Fanucci Zet.
The 6-5 favoured trial winner San Moteur (Björn Goop) advanced first-over as the field entered the backstretch and chased the winner in vain, finishing second in a dead-heat with the late-closing Go On Boy (Romain Derieux), who had tracked the cover of the other trial winner and defending champion Etonnant (Anthony Barrier). Önas Prince finished fourth while Etonnant, who quickly regained composure after going offstride for a brief moment approaching the wire, finished fifth. Vivid Wise As (Matthieu Abrivard), Stoletheshow (Dexter Dunn) and Hail Mary (Åke Svanstedt) completed the order of finish.
Allaire, who also bred the winner with Jean-Pierre Guay, had previously participated in the Elitloppet once before when he drove for his father in the 1980 edition. Hohneck was Allaire's first starter in the race from his own stable although he has enjoyed success at Solvalla before during Elitloppet weekend, winning the Four-Year-Old Elite Race last year with Callmethebreeze.
Allaire told Swedish media that he knew Hohneck was a good fit for this type of race and he had the trotter in perfect condition today.
Hohneck earned his 20th win from 50 career starts and the SEK 5 million first prize boosted his bankroll to more than SEK 20 million.
Posts Drawn For Elitloppet Final
The field is now set for the 2023 Elitloppet after the two trials were conducted earlier Sunday morning (May 28) at Solvalla Race Course in Sweden.
Defending champion Etonnant and driver Anthony Barrier won the first trial for trainer Richard Westerink over Go On Boy while Önas Prince and Stoletheshow completed the top four to advance to the final. Don Fannucci Zet, the favourite and Elitloppet champion from two years ago, broke stride early and did not qualify for the final.
Önas Prince led most of the way in the first trial with Etonnant racing to his outside and gliding by in the stretch. Go On Boy went three-wide in the final turn and closed to the winner's outside.
In the second trial, San Moteur and trainer/driver Björn Goop came flying wide late to win over Hohneck and Vivid Wise As while Hail Mary finished fourth.
The field is listed below for the final of the Elitloppet, which is scheduled as Race 11 with an approximate post time of 11:45 a.m. (EDT). The connections of the elimination winners had first pick of their posts.
Elitloppet
Post – Horse (Country) – Driver – Trainer
1. Hohneck (France) – Gabriele Gelormini – Philippe Allaire
2. San Moteur (Sweden) – Björn Goop – Björn Goop
3. Etonnant (France) – Anthony Barrier – Richard Westerink
4. Go On Boy (France) – Romain Derieux – Romain Derieux
5. Önas Prince (Sweden) – Per Nordström – Per Nordström
6. Vivid Wise As (Italy) – Matthieu Abrivard – Alessandro Gocciadoro
7. Hail Mary (Sweden) – Åke Svanstedt – Daniel Redén
8. Stoletheshow (Sweden) – Dexter Dunn – Frode Hamre
Watch The 2023 Elitloppet
Live video is available for the 2023 Elitloppet, Sweden's premier trotting event which will be contested on Sunday, May 28 at Solvalla Race Course in Stockholm.
Two trial heats have been drawn, with 16 trotters set to compete. Defending champion Etonnant will seek a repeat for trainer Richard Westerink in the first trial along with past winner Don Fanucci Zet, one of three contenders for Daniel Redén. The top four finishers from each trial will advance to the final later in the day.
This year's field includes horses representing Sweden, Norway, France, Italy and Australia. Two drivers familiar to North American racing fans have picked up mounts. U.S. based Dexter Dunn will drive Stoletheshow in the first trial and Åke Svanstedt, a Swedish born two-time Elitloppet-winning driver, will steer the Redén-trained Hail Mary in the second trial.
A livestream of all of the races from Sovalla can be watched here. In addition, the races can be viewed on most Advanced Wagering Deposit (ADW) sites such as HPIBet. A program for the Elitloppet day card is available here.
The first trial should head postward around 9:20 a.m. (EDT) with the second slated for approximately 9:50 a.m. and the final going to the gate at about 11:45 a.m.
The complete fields for the trials are listed below.
Elitloppet – Trial 1
Post – Horse (Country) – Driver – Trainer
1. Don Fanucci Zet (Sweden) – Örjan Kihlström – Daniel Redén
2. Önas Prince (Sweden) – Per Nordström – Per Nordström
3. Stoletheshow (Sweden) – Dexter Dunn – Frode Hamre
4. Etonnant (France) – Anthony Barrier – Richard Westerink
5. Vernissage Grif (Italy) – Alessandro Gocciadoro – Alessandro Gocciadoro
6. Go On Boy (France) – Romain Derieux – Romain Derieux
7. Just Believe (Australia) – Greg Sugars – Jessie Tubbs
8. Brother Bill (Sweden) – Magnus A Djuse – Timo Nurmos
Elitloppet – Trial 2
Post – Horse (Country) – Driver – Trainer
1. Best Ofdream Trio (Norway) – Kim Eriksson – Erik Killingmo
2. Ultion Face (Sweden) – Adrian Kolgjini
3. Mister Hercules (Sweden) – Santtu Raitala – Daniel Redén
4. Hail Mary (Sweden) – Åke Svanstedt – Daniel Redén
5. Hohneck (France) – Gabriele Gelormini – Philippe Allaire
6. San Moteur (Sweden) – Björn Goop – Björn Goop
7. Vivid Wise As (Italy) – Matthieu Abrivard – Alessandro Gocciadoro
8. Usain Töll (Italy) – Alexandre Abrivard – Vitale Ciotola