At the finishing line of the Grand Prix d’Amérique 2014, Örjan Kihlström’s cinder-smudged face lights up with a smile. He has just won, driving Maharajah’s sulky. This Swedish driver with an outstanding prize list has just had a dream come true; other foreign drivers have done it before him and still more will hope to do it after.
What race can still get a Swedish driver so excited when he has already won the Elitloppet, THE race in his country? The Prix d’Amérique! The proof is in Örjan Kihlström’s own words, minutes after his triumph in last year’s race. ‘’This is a milestone in my career, it was maybe my last chance of winning this race.’’ So, his tenth attempt was his best one but certainly not his last! The driver, who will be 53 in May, is partnering up this year with Solvato, who won the Prix de Bourgogne, one of the four prep races for the Prix d’Amérique Opodo.
With more than 5000 wins under his belt, Örjan Kihlström is part of a long tradition of victorious foreign drivers on the last Sunday of January, starting with the Belgian Jos Verbeeck who is a quadruple winner. From Europe to north America, this race has always been an undeniably attractive propsect. Another Swedish driver, Björn Goop (photo), would not be out of place on this list. He had won the Casque d’Or – the Swedish equivalent of the Sulky d’Or – eleven times before the age of 40 and last spring, he was asked by Timoko’s entourage to help them in their mission to win the Elitloppet. After accomplishing this task with brilliance, the Scandinavian driver is ready for a fresh challenge. He has, in fact, been a regular presence at Vincennes since the beginning of the winter meetings, with a success rate of over 31% in the first three. A notable win was the Critérium Continental (Group I) with Tumble Dust, who he is putting to one side for the Prix d’Amérique, to race with the French champion Timoko.
