Twelve horses have become eleven for the Elitloppet in 2022.
This after American Back of the Neck was forced to withdraw and will not come to Solvalla on the last Sunday in May.
- Åke Svanstedt does not think the horse is in the right shape to be competitive in Elitloppet and they therefore choose to stay home, says Solvalla's sports manager Anders Malmrot.
Five-year-old Back of the Neck finished third in the USA's biggest race for three-year-old horses in 2020 when he claimed bronze in The Hambletonian Stakes and in 2021 he won the Dayton Trotting Derby and was supposed to visit Sweden and Solvalla for the first time, but that will not happen.
Back of the Neck underperformed in his last start and after a qualifying race on Saturday where the horse tested his form, they were not completely satisfied and have now taken the decision to turn down Elitloppet 2022. The number of horses ready for this year's edition is thus eleven.
Elitloppet is the main attraction during the Elitlopp weekend, which will be held at Solvalla in Stockholm on May 27-29, 2022. 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 2022: Don Fanucci Zet (Sweden), Etonnant (France), Vivid Wise As (Italy), Extreme (Denmark), Perfetto (Canada), Vernissage Grif (Italy), Önas Prince (Sweden), Cokstile (Italy), Admiral As (Sweden), Snowstorm Hanover (Sweden), Who's Who (Sweden),
For more information:
Anders Malmrot, Sports Director Solvalla
Tel: +46 70 636 00 58
Email:
