V75® (Sunday): No clouds in the Elitlopp sky for Redén
ÖRSUNDSBRO. Daniel Redén seems confident.
He even seems optimistic.
The question is though; which of his two horses has the best chance to win Elitloppet?
"There are no clouds in the sky," says the Solvalla trainer.
We visit Furuby Gård and Stall Zet the week before Elitloppet. Daniel Redén has invited the press.
It is Wednesday and after this press event, he closes the barn to be able to focus so that the horses will be able to prepare in the best possible way for what is coming.
Daniel Redén, 44, has experience. He knows how he wants things done.
He has made 25 Elitlopp starts since 2013.
Daniel Redén starts the press event in his big owner's lounge. He almost lies back comfortably in the chair as he answers questions in a very relaxed manner.
The Solvalla trainer seems confident as if he has everything under control.
"I'm pretty relaxed, but in here it's like a pinball machine," he says and points to his head.
Daniel Redén runs one of the country's biggest racing stables and he trains around 100 horses, a quarter of them have made over SEK 1 million. Almost half of the horses in his barn are 3-year-olds, and most of them have not started their racing careers yet.
Since Daniel Redén raced his first horse in Elitloppet 2013 – Shaq Is Back whom he drove himself – he has had at least two starters in Elitloppet every year, except for in 2015.
He has won twice, which turned into one when all of Propulsion's starts were erased due to an operation in the United States before he was bought by Stall Zet, that made the horse ineligible to race in Sweden.
Fourth straight Elitlopp start
Don Fanucci Zet won Elitloppet in 2022. The now 8-year-old studhorse makes his fourth straight start in Elitloppet.
"There is probably no horse that is a more complete sprinter than Don Fanucci Zet. I think he will be as good as he is now when he is 13, if not better. He seems to get better and better. This year he's pacy again, just the way I want him to be, so you can leave all you want with him. Last year he was interfering with himself and was too heavy. This year you just lower the lines and go".
"You have to be careful to not underestimate him, he's a great sprinter. If Don Fanucci Zet trots 1:08.5 in the lead, it won't be easy to sit on the outside, not even for Francesco Zet, not over 1,609 meters".
You can still tell that Daniel thinks that the king of the stable can do it. For Daniel Redén, Francesco Zet is an extraordinary horse.
"I always think that Francesco should be the favorite".
Someone throws out a question:
Is Francesco Zet the best horse in the world?
The answer comes lightning-fast, without any room for thought.
"He is the best horse on Furuby Gård, that's enough for me," says Daniel Redén.
18 straight wins
Francesco Zet comes into Elitloppet with 18 straight wins and he has not lost a race since September 2021. But Daniel Redén says he is not worried that the win streak might come to an end.
"I think he's been so good these years he has raced. I can't worry about him losing if we are going to keep racing him. Of course, he will lose sooner or later. Everyone can have an off day, we might lose against someone who has a better day".
Daniel Redén says that he has placed his best stud horses in different barns to make them feel like kings. If they get close to Francesco Zet, he psyches them out. He does that with his opponents in a race too. He's incredibly strong, mentally. He's the king of the farm".
A horse who got a boost from being the sole king of his barn is Don Fanucci Zet.
"Xanthis Harvey and Missle Hill had to move, I think he was tired of them, perhaps. I think Don Fanucci Zet is better than he's ever been, based on the way he felt all winter. It's crazy that he comes back now after all the problems he had last year and thinks that he should be in it too. He is hard to psyche out, because he doesn't care about anything," says Daniel Redén.
Lucky draw
Last Sunday, the post positions for Elitloppet were drawn, and Daniel Redén's two horses were lucky; Don Fanucci Zet drew post two in the first elimination and Francesco Zet drew post five in the second one. Daniel Redén offers the following comments on his website:
"2 Don Fanucci Zet (V75-2) drew well, that felt great. He's in a good phase right now, I trained him tougher today (Monday) and he accelerated very well when I asked him to. He's perfectly pacy, just as he should be, last year he was too heavy and was interfering with himself, even at home. We haven't seen any of that, this year. It makes it easier to leave hard with him behind the gate too. The way he feels, he is in top form. I did the same thing as before his first start of the year, gave him a blowout heat in training when I trained him today. He will race with shoes upfront in the elimination, if he makes it to the final he might race barefoot all around. No other changes".
"5 Francesco Zet (V75-3) keeps feeling both better and looser and everything has gone as planned with him. Last week, he trained five heavy intervals and this week, we started today (Monday) by doing the same way I did with Fanucci, pushing him harder in the last interval to see that the speed was there. It was, and more, so it feels like we are on the right path with both our Elitlopp horses. They will train again on Thursday. I'm very happy with post five. He has never shown any explosive gate speed, so it's good that he starts in the middle of the track. The plan is to race him the same way as in his last start, with shoes all around, possibly some lighter bell boots. He has raced so well with shoes behind and done so well, that I don't think I want to risk not having enough foot for a potential final".
Besides the two star trotters in Elitloppet, Daniel Redén has two more starters in V75.
"2 Holocombe Zet (V75-6) let's just forget his last start. That was my fault, I shouldn't have had two strings to pull on him. One extra gear would have been enough and in the heat of the moment it's easy to pull both strings when they are there, but the horse couldn't trot any faster than he already did and it was too much when both strings were pulled. These are very interesting conditions and I think he will race very well. 1,640 meters should fit him perfectly. He will only race with pullout earplugs this time, and with an open bridle".
"4 Crown (V75-6) has gotten some more training and we will try him barefoot all around this time. It will make a big difference and he should be better. The race didn't unfold the way he likes it to, last time either. They went fast-slow-fast and he's not really used to that, so it's hard to evaluate his effort. As I said, he will be better this time. No changes, other than the shoes".
Before V75, Redén also sends out 9 Jikken (race 2):
"The pace was a bit too fast for him in the last turn, last time out and he made a break, as many others did in that turn. Let's just forget that start. This distance is better for him and the conditions are much better. He's in good form and I think he will race well".
Facts
Daniel Redén's results in Elitloppet where he has raced 25 times since his first starter Shaq Is Back eleven years ago. The two starters this year are number 26 and 27 for Redén in Elitloppet.
2024
Don Fanucci Zet ???
Francesco Zet ???
2023
Don Fanucci Zet eliminated.
Hail Mary fourth in the elimination, eighth in the final.
Mister Hercules eliminated.
2022
Don Fanucci Zet won the elimination, eighth in the final.
Hail Mary second in the elimination, second in the finale.
Snowstorm Hanover eliminated.
2021
Don Fanucci Zet second in the elimination, won the final.
Heavy Sound eliminated.
2020
Missle Hill second in the elimination, fifth in the final.
Propulsion third in the elimination, won the final. Disqualified later.
Sorbet third in the elimination, third in the final.
2019
Double Exposure eliminated.
Heavy Sound eliminated.
Propulsion second in the elimination, fourth in the final. Disqualified later.
Sorbet eliminated.
2018
Lionel won the elimination, fourth in the final.
Propulsion second in the elimination, second in the final. Disqualified later.
2017
Delicious U.S. eliminated.
In Vain Sund third in the elimination, fifth in the final.
Propulsion second in the elimination, second in the final. Disqualified later.
2016
Call Me Keeper eliminated.
Propulsion third in the elimination, fourth in the final. Disqualified later.
2014
Delicious U.S. third in the elimination, third in the final.
Shaq Is Back eliminated.
2013
Shaq Is Back eliminated.