Torvald Palema finishes strongly to win Elitloppet harness race, give Svanstedt 2nd victory

Torvald Palema finishes strongly to win Elitloppet

STOCKHOLM — Torvald Palema finished strongly on the final straightaway to win the Elitloppet trotting classic on Sunday.

The 8-year-old stallion, with Swedish driver Ake Svanstedt, won the one-mile race by about half a length after trailing far back in the final curve.

Jaded, with Orjan Kihlstrom in the sulky, made it a 1-2 Swedish finish. Offshore Dream of France, driven by Pierre Levesque, was third.

Buck I St Pat of the United States, a favorite driven by Tim Tetrick, broke stride at the start of the first of two qualifying heats and missed the final.

Svanstedt also won Europe’s most prestigious harness race in 2004, behind Gidde Palema.

The victory before a sellout crowd of 30,000 at Solvalla Racecourse was worth $281,000.