After finishing third in his elimination, Iceland upset seven foes to take the final of the 2010 Elitlopp on Sunday in Sweden
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Johnny Takter picked up the winning catch-drive after Ôrjan Kihlström guided him to a third-place finish in his elimination race earlier on the same program. Kihlström opted to stick with Triton Sund in the final, and that opened the door for Takter to pick up the assignment.
Takter left the gate as quick as he could with Iceland, and once in command the trotter never looked back. He fended off a first-over challenge from Triton Sund and then held off a late surge from Torvald Palema in the late stages. That foe wound up second, with Brioni rallying to finish third. The rest of the field finished as follows: Nu Pagadi (4th), Beanie MM (5th), Ilaria Jet (6th), Triton Sund (7th) and Quarcio Du Chene (8th).
"This is fantastic, to go to America and win the Hambletonian with Scarlet Knight and then a few years later to win the elite race with his son, Iceland," said winning trainer Stefan Melander. “He is a copy of his father, the only difference is the starting speed."
“I am very grateful to Stefan that I got this chance, there are many drivers who are queuing up to run this kind of horse,” said winning driver Johnny Takter. “It felt good when we got to the line and I had a good feeling throughout the race, but you can not take anything out in advance when it comes to horse racing.”
(Quotes from Elitloppet.se)
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