The first pink ticket goes to France.
Idao de Tillard is ready for the Elitloppet 2024 on the last Sunday of May at Solvalla.
- "It feels fantastic to welcome the winner of Prix d'Amérique. He has strength and speed that is out of the ordinary and to see Idao de Tillard at Solvalla will be something very special," says Sports Director Anders Malmrot.
The French six-year-old crushed the world's elite when he won the Prix d'Amérique at the end of January with €450,000 to the winner at Vincennes trotting track, and now it is clear that he will come to Sweden for the very first time.
Trainer Thierry Duvaldestin, on the other hand, is well acquainted with Solvalla and has had success in previous Elitlopps weekends - including 2007 when he and Milord de Melleray won Harper Hanover's race in a new world record.
Idao de Tillard has been racking up the wins throughout his career and has taken rapid steps straight to the top where, in addition to the win in the Prix d'Amérique, he has won the Critérium des 5 ans, Prix de Selection and Prix Tenor de Baune. In the last start, he sprinted home the Prix de France in the new running record 1.09.4 over 2100 meters with auto start, which was his eighth straight victory. For many trotting fans, there is no doubt who is the best trotting horse in the world right now.
During Saturday's V75 Direkt on TV4, Solvalla's sporting director Anders Malmrot announced that Idao de Tillard is the very first horse in the Elitlopps field in 2024.
- I have always thought that Idao de Tillard would adapt well in Sweden. He has everything to succeed at Solvalla as he is fast behind the car and has a lot of speed in him. But he is also calm and cool, very kind and he never gets excited," says Thierry Duvaldestin.
Facts about Idao de Tillard
Age: 6 years
Sex: Stallion
Father: Severino
Mother: America de Tillard
Starts/Result: 41 (30-3-2)
Earned: SEK 25 042 334
Record: 1.09,4 autostart (2100 meters)
Owner: Cyril Sevestre
Coach: Thierry Duvaldestin
Nurse: Susanne Ohme
Breeder: Ecurie Chaunion
Nationality: French
Elitloppet is the main attraction during the Elitlopp weekend, which will be held at Solvalla in Stockholm on May 24-26, 2024. 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 2024: Idao de Tillard (France),
