Father Patrick colts take out elite events in Europe and North America

Sons of Father Patrick were to the fore in the northern hemisphere in the past week, with his progeny taking out the Old Oaken Bucket on Little Brown Jug day at the Delaware County Fairgrounds in Ohio, USA, and in Europe, Sweden’s premier race for 3-year-old trotting colts and geldings, the Trotting Criterium.

A North American Grand Circuit event, the $87,700 Old Oaken Bucket was won by the Julie Miller trained Sunny Crockett, in a dominant front running display, with the consistent colt leading from almost start to finish.

The 3-year-old has fashioned an impressive record to date having won 12 races and placed in a further 10 from just 23 starts for stakes earnings of $272,626.

A $35,000 Lexington Select purchase, Sunny Crockett is out of the lightly raced Muscles Yankee mare Moonlight In Miami, who was good enough to win a leg of the New Jersey Sires Stakes series as a 3-year-old.

In Sweden the Daniel Redén trained Francesco Zet (pictured) was far too good for his rivals in the SEK8,000,000 Group 1 Swedish Trotting Criterium over 2,640m at Solvalla on September 25.

Three wide for the last lap, Francesco Zet was simply too good, kicking clear in the straight to win by four lengths in a mile rate of 1:57.

The winner of six of his eight starts to date and SEK4,875,000 he is rated by his trainer, whom has conditioned the likes of this year’s Elitlopp winner Don Fanucci Zet and star US trotter Propulsion, as one of the top three horses that he has trained.

Owned and bred by Redén, Francesco Zet is out of the US bred Credit Winner mare, Shaqline, a full sister to Redén’s first Elitlopp starter Shaq Is Back.