Superior win in the last start and shown top form - now it will be the first time on Swedish soil. Earl Simon is ready for the last Sunday in May at Solvalla.
- He is a tough horse that I can't wait to see," says Solvalla's sports manager Anders Malmrot.
Six-year-old Earl Simon took the biggest win of his career in the Prix Octave Douesnel 2018 and in terms of money, third place in the European Derby behind Swedish Villiam is also on the merit list. The 2018 season is the best so far with over five million in earnings for Earl Simon, who has now won 15 of his 33 career starts. Next in sight will be the Elitlopp weekend at Solvalla.
Earl Simon has had several good performances in 2020 and won the Prix des Ducs de Normandie in Caen on Wednesday. Earl Simon sprinted to victory in 1.11,0 over the distance 2.450 meters and impressed greatly as he beat parts of the French elite - an effort that now gives him a place among the sixteen invited to Elitloppet 2020.
- He was formidable in Caen and really reinforced my impression of him," says Solvalla's sports director Anders Malmrot.
Elitloppet 2020 will be Earl Simon's first start in Elitloppet and eleven horses are now invited for Sunday, May 31.
Facts about Earl Simon
Age: 6 years
Father: Prodigious
Mother: Tindrana
Sex: Stallion
Starts/Result: 33 (15-6-8)
Earned: EUR 855 110
Record: 1.09,9 autostart (1640m)
Owner: Ecurie Skytten
Coach: Jarmo Niskanen
Attendant: Audrey Viel
Breeder: Gunnar Sundbaum
Nationality: Swedish
Malmrot awaits the next invitation
Anders Malmrot already announces that the next invitation will come on May 23rd when the winner of the STL-Gold division final at Gävletravet will be directly qualified for Elitloppet. After that, the last four horses will be invited until the start list is determined on Sunday, May 24:
- I want to have all the conditions ready when I select the last horses. Therefore, I will wait for the performance of all the interesting horses, so that I have a complete decision basis, before the next invitation comes.
About Elitloppet
Elitloppet is the main attraction during the Elitlopp weekend, which will be held at Solvalla in Stockholm on May 29-31, 2020. 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 three million SEK.
Invited horses for Elitloppet 2020: Vivid Wise As (Italy), Elian Web (Finland), Chief Orlando (Finland), Attraversiamo (Sweden), Tae Kwon Deo (Sweden), Missle Hill (Sweden), Looking Superb (Norway), Makethemark (Sweden), Cokstile (Italy), Sorbet (Sweden), Earl Simon (Sweden).
This year, the Elitlopp weekend will be organized without spectators. The spread of the new coronavirus has led to laws, regulations and directives that have resulted in Solvalla and other Swedish trotting tracks completely closing down their spectator facilities since March 12. In addition to this, a number of restrictions have been introduced around the stables. The racecourses are today a strict workplace where only people who perform a job have access.
