REIGNING Inter Dominion champion The Locomotive will take on the world’s best trotters.
The Brad Hewitt-trained star will become just the fourth Australian-trained trotter to tackle Sweden’s iconic Elitlopp on May 25.
Anders Malmrot, racing manager at host club Solvalla, confirmed The Locomotive’s owner Glenn Holland had accepted an invitation for The Locomotive to follow in the hoofprints of the great Just Believe, who contested the 2023 Elitlopp.
The Locomotive will become just the fourth Australian-trained trotter to contest the race. Just Believe, Maori Time (2018) and Sundons Gift (2009) are the others.
Including New Zealanders, the great mare Pride Of Petite is the only “Down Under” trotter to contest a heat of the Elitlopp and qualify for the final run later the same day in Stockholm.
“I said to Brad (Hewitt, trainer-driver) that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and we simply had to take up the challenge,” Holland said.
“All our dealings with the Swedes have been through Andrew Kelly at Harness Racing Australia, but it couldn’t have gone more smoothly. They’ve been great.”
The Locomotive, who returned to winning form at Menangle last night, will still go to New Zealand for the $NZ600,000 TAB Trot at Cambridge on April 4. He will return home two days later to prepare for a series of flights to get to Stockholm on April 15.
“Thankfully, there are more options and the travel isn’t as daunting as it was for Just Believe a couple of years ago,” Holland said.
“We can fly from Melbourne to Doha, on to Amsterdam then a three-hour road trip for another flight from Paris to Stockholm. It sounds a lot, but it takes away a 17-hour road trip Just Believe had to endure.”
Holland said Hewitt would supervise most of The Locomotive’s preparation in Sweden and drive him in the Elitlopp.
Hewitt said he was pinching himself with the news.
"It’s amazing. We're confident he's the right sort of horse with the class and speed for a race like the Elitlopp,” he said.
"As long as he travels well, settles in and has some luck with barrier draws, he can make and be very competitive in the final.
"We'd been thinking about the Elitlopp, but we really warmed to the idea after having a long talk with Bjorn Goop when he was at the Ultimate Driver Challenge in Brisbane last month. We've kept in touch since and his positivity has been a big factor in taking on the challenge.
"Glenn (Holland, owner) and I are hugely thankful for the faith and support Solvalla have shown in us and The Locomotive and we hope to become the first Australian-trained trotter to make an Elitlopp final.
“Like everyone here, we watched with great interest when Just Believe went over a couple of years ago and was so competitive in a couple of big races.”
Holland said the plan was for The Locomotive to stay and campaign in a string of other feature Scandinavian races for two months after the Elitlopp.
“There’s no way we can get back in time for the Inter Dominion, so we’ve decided to stay longer over there and make the most of our time there,” he said.
