He won Elitloppet last year - now it will be a new visit to Solvalla.
Etonnant is horse number three to be ready for the last Sunday in May.
- "I am very happy and excited to come back and try to defend the Elitloppet title with Etonnant. I hope we will offer the audience a fantastic race," says Etonnant's coach Richard Westerink.
Etonnant's track record is long and he has won big both under saddle and, above all, in sulky. In 2021 he won the Prix de Paris and last year he won the Prix d'Été before crossing the finish line first in the Elitloppet at Solvalla. The victory in the Elitloppet offered great drama where Etonnant, despite a canter, was only the best in the final and accounted for a brilliant performance.
Dad Timoko has won the Elitloppet twice before and with Etonnant's first place in 2022, trainer Richard Westering also took his third Elitlopp victory.
After a somewhat troubled winter in France, where he missed the Prix d'Amerique, for example, Etonnant won straight away in his comeback last week in the Prix de Cauvicourt in Caen in strong fashion. Now he can start preparing for the Elitloppet.
Solvalla's sports director Anders Malmrot announced in Saturday's V75 Direkt in TV4 that the circle around Etonnant has received a pink ticket and that he is thus the third horse to be ready for this year's edition.
- "Etonnant captivated us all last year and it's great that he's back to defend his title. It's an extraordinary horse that really stands out," says Anders Malmrot.
Facts Amazing
Age: 9 years
Gender: Stallion
color: Timoko
Mother: Migraine
Starter/Result: 85 (21-17-5)
Earned2 142 925 euros
record: 1.09,1 autostart (1609m)
Owner: Richard Westerink
Trainer: Richard Westerink
Attendant: Étienne Clozier
BreederChristian Guy Vigier
Nationality: French
Elitloppet is the main attraction during the Elitlopp weekend, which will be held at Solvalla in Stockholm on May 26-28, 2023. Elitloppet is an invitational race where 16 horses compete in two different trials with eight horses in each. The top four in each trial meet in a final where the winner receives five million SEK.
Invited horses for Elitloppet 2023: San Moteur (Sweden), Horsy Dream (France), Etonnant (France)
