The meatball

He was the first superstar trained by Åke Svanstedt and helped make the trainer a household name all over trotting-Europe. Winner of the UET Grand Circuit for two years running, Zoogin was the complete package of speed and strength in powerful body.

Bred by Lennart & Lars-Göran Olsson, Zoogin was sold as a two-year old to Håkan Andersson in August 1992 and entrusted to Åke Svanstedt. The colt started twice at two, but ended outside the money on both occasions. After the winter break he won his first start at three, and then quickly established himself as one of the more promising Swedish three-year-olds. Zoogin won his elimination of the Färjestads Nordiska 3-åringspris, but after making a break he had to settle for fifth in the final. Still, the colt was improving all the time in Svanstedt’s skillful hands.

A second place in his Kriterium elimination meant a very tricky post 8 in the final, yet Zoogin won the final after a strong finish where he managed to hold off King Lavec. In the race Svanstedt sent his future star forward early, sat quietly outside the leader and then attacked again with 800 meters (1/2 mile) to go. This was typical of the Zoot Suit son; he had no problems doing most, or even all, of the heavy lifting himself. In fact, later in his career Zoogin won several big races by being parked outside and grinding the opposition down with his formidable strength.

“Perfectly suited to my way of training”

As a four-year-old Zoogin increased his dominance in the age crop. He was disqualified in his season debut, but after that he went 9-4-1 in the remaining 14 starts. Victory eluded him in the two biggest races, however, as he finished second to Zenit F in the Derby and third behind Zenit F and Progress Value in the Swedish Breeders Crown. Svanstedt, at that time based in Matfors, outside of Sundsvall, had perfected his unique training regime, training the horses hard uphill tracks. Svanstedt himself claimed Zoot Suit was his favorite stallion as his get “were perfectly suited to my way of training. They can take the training and has strong psyche. They also have the willingness and an ability to absorb training in the right way. A half decent Zoot Suit can be trained to be good. My belief is that Zoot Suits are tougher and can take more training than other horses. Possibly it’s the Nevele Pride-blood that is coming through.”

With this foundation Zoogin already had the necessary strength, and at five he immediately established himself as one of the top aged trotters in Europe. Playing second fiddle to Copiad in the 1995 Elitlopp final – after losing to SJ’s Photo in the elimination – the duo met up again in the Jämtlands Stora Pris two weeks later. Again drawing post 8 and parked outside most of the race, most saw it as another Mission Impossible. However, Zoogin showed he was the new king as he wore down the Elitlopp-winner down the final stretch.

A serious injury and a record comeback

The new king of Swedish trotting finished his five-year-old season in a stellar manner, winning the Åby Stora Pris and Jubileumspokalen, and ended up with 10-3-1 in 14 starts that season. The start of 1996 saw Zoogin compete abroad for the second time in his career – the first was a failed attempt at the Orsi Mangelli at the end of his three-year-old season. After finishing fifth in the Prix de Belgique in January 96, everything looked on track for a serious challenge on the Prix d’Amerique. However, disaster struck as Zoogin suffered a crack in his coccyx just a few days before the big race.

“I didn’t think it was that serious at first and hadn’t had a horse with that kind of injury before, either. The vets recommended a long rest in his stall, but after a while I started feeling sorry for Zoogin and decided to let him out in a paddock. The horse wasn’t lame anymore, and I had good help from the Hallberg brothers, who had complete control of every step Zoogin took,” Svanstedt later told Swedish magazine Travronden.

Zoogin then showed intelligence when he communicated he was ready again. One day Åke received an urgent call from one of the Hallberg brothers. “They were very worried because Zoogin started running around at high speed in the pasture. First eight circles in one direction and then the same number in the opposite direction. We x-rayed the leg and the injury was completely healed. I think the laps in the paddock were somehow the horse’s way of showing that he felt ready for training again,” Svanstedt added.

Zoogin’s recovery was in record time as he was racing in early May, just a little more than three months after he was sidelined. It meant the colt, against all odds, was back in time for the 1996 Elitlopp. Despite being the favorite, it wasn’t to be in – but not for a lack of trying. Zoogin put in another great performance after being parked outside in the final, but was unable to withstand a flying Coktail Jet down the final stretch. “Actually, it was incredible that the horse could come back so quickly. It was perhaps also the case that the horse was at its absolute peak this year, even if it could not stand up to Coktail Jet in the final. We simply lost to a better horse that day,” Svanstedt later told Travronden. Going to Germany in July, the Zoot Suit-son then captured the Elite-Rennen in Gelsenkirchen, and followed up with three straight group 1-wins, Hugo Åbergs Memorial, Jubileumspokalen and Åby Stora Pris, before getting a long winter break.

Losing a shoe

1997 started really well with wins in the Finlandia Ajo and Oslo Grand Prix. In the upcoming Elitlopp, he was the heavy favorite ahead of Gentle Star, the Norwegian star he had beaten in Oslo. The two stars were expected to win the two separate eliminations and meet up in the final. Bizarrely enough, neither trotter made the final for exactly the same reason. Both Gentle Star and Zoogin lost a shoe and went offstride, which made the final a bit anticlimactic.

Svanstedt’s star bounced back by winning the Copenhagen Cup, Jämtlands Stora Pris and Gävle Stora Pris before he started to show he was beatable. Zoogin won only a single of his 7 remaining races that year, but still earning 4,3 million SEK that year. At 8, in 1998, he earned almost as much money after winning 6 races including the Jubileumspokal, Sundvall Open Trot, the Swedish Championship and the Nordic Championship. That year he finally got his Prix d’Amerique start as he finished fifth in the big race. Even though he “only” won 6 of 15 he was still voted Older Swedish Horse of the Year for the fourth consecutive year. In 1999, however, Zoogin was showing his age. He started nine times and won only three smaller races. He only finished fourth in his Elitlopp elimination and sixth in the final. After finishing fourth in a race at Romme in July the curtain was pulled on his career.

“Not many of that kind are born”

Zoogin retired 51-19-8 in 96 starts and with earnings of more than 25 million SEK. That made him the sixth-winningest Swedish born horse of all times as of 2024. Twice awarded the Swedish Horse of the Year honors and a four-time aged Swedish Horse of the Year, Zoogin had his own fan club and was an extremely popular horse. It wasn’t just the fans who held the colt in high regard – trainer Åke Svanstedt never hid his admiration for superstar. “Not many of that kind are born. Zoogin had an extraordinary will to win, although he often felt sluggish in the races. When it came down to it, however, he always brought out his very best, ” the champion trainer later said of the son of Zoot Suit.

When Zoogin entered stud, the horse affectionally just called the Meatball (“köttbullen”) because of his compact body and powerful style, was seen by many as the ideal outcross as his pedigree is void of Speedy Crown, Super Bowl, Noble Victory and Florican. However, Zoogin failed to reproduce his abilities at stud and Swedish breeders very quickly lost interest. In 2013 he was exported to Russia where he stood stud at the Rudnev farm, and he died there seven years later. Just a week prior to his death, Svanstedt honored his old star on Facebook: “30 years! The horse who taught me most things! A fantastic individual and memories for life! Thanks for everything Zoogin”

---