by Ellen Harvey, Harness Racing Communications

Freehold, NJ — The draw for Sunday’s prestigious Elitlopp, an invitational for older trotters at Solvalla Raceway in Stockholm, was performed May 23 on national television in Sweden. Lucky Jim was not very lucky, as he drew post seven in the first of two elimination races. Enough Talk, who drew outside posts in the Finlandia Ajo and Oslo Grand Prix this year, got post two in the second elim. Lou Guida’s Lisa America, the upset winner of the Oslo Grand Prix on May 16, drew post six in the second elim. The first four finishers from each division advance to the same-day final.

Trained by Julie Miller and driven by her husband, Andy, Lucky Jim has won four of six races this year and finished second twice. Last year, he was North America’s best older trotter, winning 17 of 18 races and earning $1.06 million.

USTA/Ken Weingartner photo

Julie Miller and Lucky Jim have been a winning combination and look to add the Elitlopp title to their resume.

On Monday, Julie Miller jogged the last horse of the day and headed home to shower and pack for a 5 p.m. flight to Sweden to join Lucky Jim. Lucky Jim shipped to Sweden last week, with Jenny Melander, second trainer for Erv Miller, and a native of Sweden, serving as the horse’s caretaker for the trip.

“Jenny said everything is amazing,” Julie Miller said. “She said he’s just a professional athlete. He’s just really taken to his surroundings and enjoying it and jogging good and loves his new temporary home over there. He’s just doing super and he’s so easy to take care of, he’s such a loveable horse.

“They’ve really bonded over there,” Miller added, and taken a “huge, huge,” load off her mind. “We’re pretty excited, we’re at the point where we’re excited to go and hopefully things work out.”

Enough Talk, who was third in the 2008 Elitlopp but failed to reach the final last year, has won two of four races in the States this season. He is trained by Peter Kleinhans and will be driven in Sweden by Johnny Takter, the brother of Jimmy Takter.

Canada’s Define The World, who will be driven by Paul MacDonell for trainer John Bax, got post five in the second elim. Defending champion Torvald Palema got post one in the second elim.

Here is the first elim field with drivers and country: 1. Nu Pagadi, Erik Adielsson, Germany; 2. Copper Beach, Conrad Lugauer, Germany; 3. Quarcio de Chene, Bjorn Goop, Sweden; 4. Lavec Kronos, Lutfi Kolgjini, Sweden; 5. Ilaria Jet, Jean Michel Bazire, Italy; 6. Nimrod Borealis, Mathieu Abrivard, France; 7. Lucky Jim, Andy Miller, U.S.; 8. Triton Sund, Orjan Kihlstrom, Sweden.

Elimination two: 1. Torvald Palema, Ake Svanstedt, Sweden; 2. Enough Talk, Johnny Takter, U.S.; 3. Oyonnax, Sebastian Ernault, France; 4. Beanie M.M., Torbjorn Jansson, Sweden; 5. Define The World, Paul MacDonell, Canada; 6. Lisa America, Jorma Kontio, Italy; 7. Brioni, Joachim Lovgren, Germany; 8. Iceland, Orjan Kihlstrom, Sweden.