There is no doubt about the most followed horse in the Kunikuustravi run on the weekend. Parvelan’s Retu is a big early favorite in the kingship competition and at the same time his own worst opponent.
Parvelan Retu is used to winning. The stallion’s last competition and victory is the Grand Championship, where he already galloped in the assembly phase, losing meters. Juho Hämäläinen / Finnish Hippos
The King’s Trot is the number one event of the trotting year, and there is usually a lot of speculation about future royals. This year, however, the pre-setting of the stallion kingship is rarely clear. Parvelan Retu is a clear favorite, and its worst opponent is – Parvelan Retu.
Seven-year-old Parvelan Retu is participating in the King’s Race for the first time, but for a couple of years it has shown itself to be the undisputed number one among Finnish horses. In recent weeks, it has won the trotting summer with superior performances in the Suurmestaruu and Suur-Hollola-Ajo classic races.
However, what makes the game interesting is that Parvelan Retu has a habit of making her tasks unnecessarily challenging. In Lahti’s Suur-Hollola-Ajo, it galloped from the turn to the start, and in Mikkeli’s Grand Championship, it galloped already when gathering behind the starting car.
Parvelan Retu’s exceptionality is indicated by the fact that the stallion has won even after those stages. However, the King’s race is a completely exceptional competition concept, where three sub-distances are run over the course of two days, and superiority is decided by the combined time of the three distances.
The King’s Contest is a new experience for Parvela’s Retu. So far, the shortest start interval in its career is six days.
– I’m not worried, even though the race is quite different from the previous ones. And it won’t get better by thinking ahead. If Retu doesn’t even go three trips, then worrying wouldn’t change it either, coach-part owner Petri Laine give a laugh.
Petri Laine has entrusted the reins of Parvelan Retu in competitions to Hannu Torvise, one of Finland’s top guides. Juho Hämäläinen / Finnish Hippos
– There are always surprises with live animals, but I don’t think there’s any reason to think that the kingship wouldn’t suit Retu.
Even before the first royal competition, Parvelan Retu is one of the all-time Finnish horses. It has run 49 starts and won 43 of them. From October 2018 to May 2021, it ran 29 wins in a row and finally fell one win short of the five-time trotting king Viesker’s winning streak record.
– It was born for good, I guess there can be no other explanation for it, Laine states.
Even though the goodness of Parvelan Retu has been known for a long time, the stallion still manages to amaze his audience time after time. Even the background troops are not yet used to the goodness of the horse.
– For example, Suur-Hollola’s victory was something completely incomprehensible. Retu gave dozens of meters of handicap at the beginning, and still won. And the opponents are really good, even Evarttik had just beaten all the best cold-blooded ones at Midsummer.
In addition to competing, Parvelan Retu also works hard in breeding. A maximum of 100 mares can be inseminated at Finnish stallions per season, and Retu’s reservation book was already filled well in advance. More mares would have been available.
– Breeding has not affected the horse in any way, although it is also full of work, Petri Laine emphasizes.
Coach Petri Laine is one of the three owners of Parvelan Retu. One of the top instructors in Finland Hannu Torvinen has driven all Parvelan Retu starts.
Parvelan Retu is already one of the famous Finnish horses in history even before a single royal trotting start. Staying healthy, Parvelan’s Retu is now only at the beginning of his racing career at the age of seven, but he is already the eighth highest-earning Finnish horse walker of all time with his winnings of 528,000 euros.
By succeeding in Forssa’s Kuninkuusravei, Parvelan Retu can already become fourth in the historical statistics. The overwhelming number one in the money statistics is Viesker, who earned more than 1.1 million euros, to which Retua has already been compared many times.
Viesker’s achievements still have a long way to go, after all, he was a five-time trotting king. Parvelan Retu, however, already has a good chance to take his first kingship this coming weekend.
The uncertainty of the initial distance has been Parvelan Retu’s only weakness, but it makes the setting ticklingly exciting. The royal audience will watch Parvelan Retu’s performances with bated breath.
– There is no excitement yet, but on Friday evening the situation may be different, Petri Laine describes his own mood with a laugh.
Parvelan Retu is owned by Lakos Team Oy, which has three owners. At Mikkeli’s winning ceremonies with Retu were coach-co-owner Petri Laine and co-owner Ismo Koskinen. Juho Hämäläinen / Finnish Hippos