Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

The $700,000 Elitlopp at Solvalla

May 29, 2005

Steinlager & driver Per Oleg Midfjeld

Sweden's Top Event Won by Norwegian-owned Steinlager
Norwegian owned, but Swedish bred Steinlager, driven by Per Oleg Midfjeld, won Sunday's Elitlopp in 1.52.3 – equaling the race record. Steinlager finished ahead of two Swedish rivals, Giant Superman and Giant Diablo, while Gidde Palema faded down the stretch after having been parked out most of the trip. This was the first Elitlopp victory for Norway in 19 years and more than 5,000 Norwegian fans were at Solvalla to witness it.

Steinlager won his elimination in 1:54.1, with Giant Superman second, with Civil Action in third and Ilster d'Espiens in fourth. 2001 Hambletonian winner Scarlet Knight tried vainly to qualify for the final for the fourth year in a row, but finished near last in the second elim after the first three-quarters of the race.

Defending Elitlopp champion Gidde Palema won the first elim easily in 1:55.2, with Digger Crown in second and the French horse, Kart du Baudrairie in third. Love You, driven by Jean Pierre Dubois, did not qualify for the final and the USA-entry, Chucaro Ahijuna driven by Walter Hennessey, went off stride at the start and was disqualified.

Giant Superman was second in the '05 Elitlopp Fans congratulate the winner!

Breeding Comes Through....Steinlager is a son of Good As Gold and grandson of Sugarcane Hanover. His dam is Keystone Jazzy, a daughter of Mac Breton whose granddam is the great Lady Ann Reed. Sugarcane Hanover went to Europe in 1988 after a successful racing career in the U.S. He scored victories in Sweden's Olympic Trot and in Norway's Oslo Grand Prix. In the 1988 Elitlopp, Sugarcane Hanover won his elim, but finished behind the eventual winner Mack Lobell in the final.

Sugarcane Hanover finished off his 1988 season and career with a memorable victory in the March of Dimes Trot at Garden State Park. He went to stud in Sweden and from one of his initial crops came Good As Gold, who won 31 of 104 lifetime starts. As a 4-year-old in 1995, he defeated Mr Lavec in the Swedish Derby. Good As Gold is out of Theiza by Texas and his next two dams are by Speedy Scot and Diller Hanover.

The dam of Steinlager is Keystone Jazzy, a Hempt Farm product sired by Mac Breton (Speedy Scot-Fresh Yankee). Keystone Jazzy is out of Lady Jamie, a well-known mare in the Delvin Miller Stable in the 1960s. She is a daughter of Jamie from the fabled Lady Ann Reed. No 19, Keystone Jazzy has a yearling colt by Supergill while her previous two foals were by Super Arnie, another successful son of Super Bowl.

Watch a Replay of the Elitlopp now! Click the link below:
http://207.232.119.242/usta/ustavideo.cfm?raceid=hswe052905a09