Pairing Sweden's most profitable trainer with Sweden's most profitable driver in 2023 was a recipe for success in Harper Hanover's race at Solvalla, where Eric the Eel surprised the big crowd with 16.131.
Tomas Malmqvist trains Eric the Eel who had Magnus Djuse in the sulky. Eric the Eel was responsible for a strong final lap in the third groove and caught the leading duo Kentucky River and Imperatur Am over Solvalla's run. The winning time was 1.12,1/3.180 meters, two tenths over the current world record.
- I did not have perfect control of the horse, but I know what a skilled trainer Tomas Malmqvist is and 300 meters before the finish I really got my hopes up, said Magnus Djuse.
Eric the Eel is born and owned in Denmark, trained by Jägersro's Tomas Malmqvist and ridden by Solvalla's Magnus Djuse. The name actually comes from a hard-to-forget performance in the Olympic Games.
Eric Moussambani from Equatorial Guinea appeared at the 2000 Sydney Olympics as a swimmer and posted the worst 100m freestyle time in Olympic history. The media quickly dubbed him Eric the Eel for his distinctive swimming style - but Eric the Eel the horse is a fine athlete who was only at his best when he won the Harper Hanovers million-dollar race.
- It's a horse that has delivered strong performances every time and he has faced the world elite in France. I won't say I'm surprised he won, but I'm very happy," said Tomas Malmqvist.
Saturday's second big race, Sweden Cup, was for the second year in a row won by Italian Alessandro Gocciadoro who had three horses in the trials, and three in the final! He chose to ride Bengurion Jet, who sprinted to victory in a record-breaking 1.09,2a/1.640 meters.
The win was a perfect boost for Gocciadoro who has two horses in this year's Elitlopp, Vernissage Grif and Vivid Wise As. Elitloppet will be decided tomorrow Sunday at Solvalla with five million SEK to the winner.
