Was Francesco Zet’s world record one of the greatest achievements of all time?

The mile rate was 1:51.3 over a five-eighths mile course covering 2,140 metres, but the manner in which the trotter handled this was equally impressive.

by Thomas Hedlund

Stall Zet owned and bred Francesco Zet (Father Patrick) performed superbly in the $200,000 Open Trot in Sundsvall on Saturday (24 August). The Daniel Redén-trained stallion produced possibly one of the best performances ever by a trotter over a 1.3 mile, 5/8 mile course.

Repetition Here.

The race promised to be a duel between Borups Victory, who was coming off an impressive win at the Hugo Åbergs Memorial, and Francesco Zet. And it turned out to be more than a duel. When Francesco Zet beat the leader Borups Victory after a three-rider drive and finally from first position, a kind of harness racing magic unfolded in front of the thousands of fans around the track.

Francesco Zet’s crown fell from his head in the Elitloppet when Borups Victory finished second and Francesco Zet finished fourth in the final. After May, the two top trotters had avoided each other and it was clear that Redén was targeting the big $1,050,000 World Grand Prix of Åby on August 10. After a late race stop, Francesco Zet showed really great form and finished strongly behind the superior winner Horsy Dream. Daniel Wäjersten decided to decline the invitation of Borups Victory from Åby as he had too many starts after the Hugo Åbergs Memorial and so a very special meeting took place in Sundsvall.

Borups Victory was the first choice and his supporters were certainly happy that Daniel Wäjersten’s 6-year-old started from post 2 behind the goal, while his opponent occupied post 5.

A few days have passed since the race started and the fact that the open trot in Sundsvall ended with a world record performance by Francesco Zet makes his performance one of the best ever, but also because of the way he did it. It is well known that racing outdoors at high speed is a tough task.

But Francesco Zet, after what he demonstrated at Saturday’s show, must be considered one of the best trotters ever bred in Europe, although some might say it is too early to call the six-year-old son of Father Patrick a superstar who is one of the very best horses of all time.

Redén blamed himself for his failure in the Elitloppet. He had too much faith in his horse, he said, and the main goal for the season was the Åby World Grand Prix in August, not the Elitloppet.

And if we look back at Francesco Zet’s career, we find wins in the $800,000 Kriteriet, the $400,000 Breeders Crown (twice), the $800,000 Derby and the $200,000 Anniversary Cup. In other words, he has won pretty much all the stakes races for 3- and 4-year-olds in Sweden, and he entered the Elitloppet this year with 18 consecutive wins as of August 2021.

The 1:51.3 at 2,140 meters was the mile world record for Francesco Zet and this record will probably be difficult to beat for a while.

Borups Victory was able to maintain his lead well, but had to admit defeat to his stablemate Mellby Jinx in the battle for second place.

Speaking of world records, Redén has already achieved a world record performance in the Sundsvall Open Trot. In 2015, his Delicious (Cantab Hall) flew to a victory of 1:52.3, which at the time was the best time ever recorded by a mare over 2,140 metres on a five-eighth-mile course.

DJUSE TOOK THE OPPORTUNITY

Swedish top rider Magnus A Djuse says he was surprisingly trained behind Jeppe Juel Icebreaker (Chocolatier) in the $195,000 Danish Derby for four-year-olds at Charlottenlund on Sunday afternoon (25 August) and Djuse made no mistakes on the bike. After an early lead in the 3,000-metre race, Icebreaker was simply superior to his opponents in the Danish four-year-old crop.

When Djuse asked for a little more power on the final turn, Icebreaker left the pursuers six lengths behind with a mile speed of 1:58.4 over 1.9 miles.

Repetition Here.

Second-placed Isseymiyake Secret finished strongly, three places ahead, but never came close to challenging the winner. Julien Sensei finished third.

The 4-year-old mares competed on Saturday (24 August) in the $105,000 Derby for Mares in Charlottenlund and Michael Lönborg trained Juno (Great Challenger) proved to be the best after leading. Lönborg took the lead after a quarter of a mile and once in front, Juno had the race in hand with a mile speed of 1:57.3 over 1.3 miles.

Surprise winner in Vincennes

Vincennes’ racing program on Saturday (24 August) included the $165,000 Yearling Cup-Arqana Trot for 3-year-old trotters and victory went to Sebastien Ernault, who surprisingly Largo de Castelle (Golden Bridge). A third place on the inside track eventually became a first overtrip and Largo de Castelle showed new qualities when he disarmed the leading favorite Luciano Menuet in the middle distance and won with a mile speed of 1:58.3 over 1.6 miles. ReplayHere.

Late that same night, the $195,000 Grand Prix du Departement des Alpes-Maritimes over one mile was held in Cagnes-sur-Mer, and Franck Nivard was sitting behind the winner, a 10-year-old mare. Emeraude de Bais (Repeat Love), who was offered a nice ride behind the leader Joyner Sport. In the final corner, Nivard decided to attack Joyner Sport and Emeraude de Bais kept her pace well on the long finishing straight in Cagnes-sur-Mer. The winner, trained by Benjamin Goetz, won in 1:52.3 (Repeat)Here), Go On Boy came second and Eric The Eel came third.