‘He Made My Dreams Come True’ – Tony Vasil Remembers Elvstroem

[Wandering Eyes]

Multiple Group 1 winner Elvstroem (Aus) (Danehill) has died at the age of 24, according to published reports. He was standing at Haras du Petit Tellier in France.

Trainer Tony Vasil said of Elvstroem to Racing.com, “You could watch a movie with him sitting on the couch beside you. He was such a gorgeous horse. He was an extraordinarily smart horse.”

Well traveled throughout his 32-start career, Elvstroem won his first Group 1 in the 2003 Victoria Derby, before adding the G1 Underwood Stakes and G1 Caulfield Cup in 2004. The G1 C. F. Orr Stakes went his way in 2005, and he would later travel to win the G1 Dubai Duty Free and be named a champion in the UAE. Placed an additional four times at the highest level, he took second in the Prix d'Ispahan and third in the Prince Of Wales's Stakes in consecutive starts in Europe after his Nad Al Sheba heroics. His record stood at 32-10-4-5 with $4,231,468 in earnings. Nine of his wins were at stakes level.

Added Vasil, “Winning in Dubai then off to Hong Kong and then off to Europe racing in France and England. It was an amazing time. Again, he made my dreams come true. I'm travelling the world and I'm riding him in work on the world's greatest tracks on a champion horse.”

Retired to stand at Blue Gum Stud in 2005, Elvstroem sired 12 Southern Hemisphere stakes winners, six of them at group level. His best was G1 Emirates Stakes hero Hucklebuck (Aus), while Viking Legend (Aus) placed in the G1 Randwick Guineas, G1 Victoria Derby and G1 AJC Spring Champion Stakes, and Carrara (Aus) was second in the G1 Caulfield Guineas. Switched to Haras du Petit Tellier in the Northern Hemisphere in 2016, the bay remained there until his passing, and he was priced at €2,000 this term. He left French listed winner Watch Him (Fr).

Bred by Frank Tagg, the son of Circles Of Gold (Aus) (Marscay {Aus}) was passed in at A$300,000 as an Inglis Easter yearling in 2002 and he would eventually be trained by Vasil for the Elvstroem Syndicate.

Of Elvstroem's trip through the Inglis ring, Vasil said, “I said I don't think he'll get that [big figure] as he had a few issues. He got passed in and [trainer] Bede Murray put forward an offer to [owner/breeder] Frank Tagg which kept him in the horse, so I lost him again. Bede got him vetted and Randwick Equine didn't pass him and said he would never race. From the moment I worked him the first time, I knew he was special.”

His dam won the G1 AJC Australian Oaks, and his half-sister was responsible for group winner Decircles (Aus) (Encosta De Lago {Aus}), while his Fusaichi Pegasus half-brother Haradasun (Aus) gained champion status in Australia and Britain with a trio of Group 1 wins to his name. Elvstroem's full-sister, the multiple stakes-placed Hveger (Aus), left four stakes winners anchored by outstanding international Group 1 winner Highland Reel (Aus) (Galileo {Ire}).

Added Vasil of Elvstroem and Haradasun, “They were the best, but the most memorable one was Elvstroem. I spent the rest of my career trying to get another horse to take overseas but that never happened.”

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