by Karsten Bønsdorf, USTA Newsroom Senior Correspondent
Italian trainer/driver Alessandro Gocciadoro stole the show at Solvalla Saturday afternoon (May 26) as he won the Sweden Cup as well as a V75 final and was beaten in second place in a photo finish.
Gerard Forni photo
Arazi Boko captured the Sweden Cup on Saturday.
In the Sweden Cup, Gocciadoro raced the 11-year-old gelding Arazi Boko, who has found his second youth since he joined the Gocciadoro stable late last year.
Arazi Boko, sired by Varenne, won his elimination as well as the final. The elimination was won in 1:53.2f, while he was timed in the final in 1:53f. The win was worth $70,000.
In the final, Swedish driver Ôrjan Kihlström tried to take the lead with Love Matters, who had finished second to Arazi Boko in the elimination, but just as Love Matter hit the front, he went off stride and was disqualified. Then the race was an easy task for Swedish-bred Arazi Boko.
Later on the day Gocciadoro won an impressive victory with the 4-year-old Volnik du Graz, he too sired by Varenne, who got a very tough trip, but still managed to win the 1-5/16th mile event by a head in 1:54.2f (mile rate).
Gocciadoro was also in the spotlight driving the mare Peace of Mind, but USA-bred Double Exposure (she by Donato Hanover), driven by Ôrjan Kihlström, just managed to get by at the finish line to win in a new record of 1:52f.
Within the last couple of years Gocciadoro has stamped himself as the leading trainer and driver in Italy. In Italy he has won 100 races so far in 2018 and has a win percentage of 41.6.
The richest race of the day, The Harper Hanover raced over two miles, was won by Platon Face (sired by Raja Mirchi), driven by trainer and breeder Lutfi Kolgjini.
Platon Face went off stride around the first bend, but managed to come back to win the race in 1:57.3f (mile rate). The purse for the winner was $105,000.