Elitlopp 2013 Preview and Draw

Post positions were drawn for the two elimination heats of the Elitlopp which will be contested this Sunday at Solvalla Racecourse in Sweden.  This year Arch Madness drew a lot better getting the rail after receiving the seven post in his elimination heat last year.  The other North American competitor, Take My Picture drew pretty well, getting the second post.  If these two will meet, it will be in the final as they both drew different elimination heats.

Here are the post assignments for each heat:

Elimination Heat 1
1--Nesta Effe (TBA)
2--Take My Picture ( Nik Drennan)
3--Timoko (Richard Westerink)
4--Formula One (Reijo Liljendahl)
5--Raja Mirchi (Lutfi Kolgjini)
6--Shaq Is Back ­(Daniel Redén)
7--Maharajah (Stefan Hultman)
8--Friction (Stefan Melander)


Elimination Heat 2
1--Arch Madness (Trond Smedshammer)
2--Commander Crowe (Fabrice Souloy)
3--Sebastian K. (Åke Svanstedt)
4--Brad de Veluwe (Tuomas Korvenoja)
5--Mack Grace SM (Lucio Colletti)
6--Nahar (Robert Bergh)
7--Panne de Moteur (Stefan Hultman)
8--Amaru Boko (Timo Nurmos).

From the press given to him this year, one must look at Mahrajah as the horse to beat as he has been on the top of his game winning the Oslo Grand Prix, living up to all the hopes people had for him when he first started racing as a youngster in Europe.  Take My Picture, who by the way also raced under saddle last year (2-0-2-0) and timed in 1:57.1 at the Meadowlands on Hambletonian Day finishing second to Master Pine, must also be respected coming off of three straight victories in the Preferred class at Woodbine with a 12-6-1-1- record and a mark of 1:52.3.  He last raced on May 8 before shipping over but the time off should have allowed him time to acclimate and recover from the shipping.    It will be curious to see how the expatriate Shaq is Back will do, having been exported after his last start at the Red Mile in 2010 a winner of over $440,000 at the time.

In the second heat, we have a great rematch between Arch Madness and Commander Crowe.  With Arch Madness making his third trip over (his connections should be congratulated for doing this), he gets to race against his nemesis.  Unless something dramatic happens, these two should advance and do battle in the race final.  As the winner of the Oslo Grand Prix, one must give Sebastian K a serious look.  If there is any concern regarding Arch Madness, it was he was scheduled to race in the Grand Prix only to tie up in a training mile which necessitated a scratch.

One thing is for sure, the Elitlopp will be a great race as usual.  Unfortunately, most if not all of North America will be stuck watching the race on delay as there will be no wagering in this part of the world.

To catch some of the spirit, here is the second trailer which was released for the Elitlopp.






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