V85® (Boxing Day): Marcus hopes for another double
Two performances beyond expectations ten days ago.
On Boxing Day, when Solvalla hosts the V85® finals, Marcus Schön’s duo is expected to be even better.
"With the setup I have planned, both Leverage and Love Bites should be," says the hometown trainer.
WinterBurst, eight V85® cards in nine days leading up to the turn of the year. The sporting jewel among these cards is without doubt Solvalla’s traditional finals on Boxing Day.
For Marcus Schön, this race day could turn out to be something special. Ten days ago, both Leverage and Love Bites made their first starts after layoffs. Expectations were adjusted accordingly, but when the race day was over, Schön could count a double that left a strong impression.
"Yes, it was a bit surprising. I thought the horses would race well, but that both would win and in the way they did, I didn’t really expect that," says Marcus Schön.
First out on Friday is Leverage (V85-4), who drew post 8.
"Yes, that wasn’t what we were hoping for. Now it is what it is, and we’ll just have to hope he can find a decent position."
How was he prepared going into his last start?
"He was just trained heavily. I hadn’t done any track work either at home or at Solvalla. Now he was clearly quicker in his legs than I had expected. The idea was that he would be this good in the start he’s making now."
How much better will he be on Friday?
"Hopefully quite a bit. The last time we had a similar setup, he improved a lot in the race after. I think and hope he does the same this time; he feels really good in training."
Given the post, would you be surprised if he wins?
"No, absolutely not. This is a very nice horse who can do a bit on his own in races, and if things fall into place, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s right there in the mix."
Hard as nails
Even more impressive was 14 Love Bites (V85-8) in her victory. Despite trotting the first lap three-wide until reaching the position outside the leader, she simply pulled away from her rivals in the stretch.
"That really shouldn’t be possible. It was an incredible performance. She’s hard as nails and has a tremendous attitude."
How did she come out of that race?
"Well, she feels really good. She’s the type of horse who needs a real tightener, and that’s not always easy to achieve in training."
"I told Örjan before the race that Love Bites needed to be 'aired out,' and you can certainly say that’s what happened. She never let up either and finished the race in a very strong way."
Can she really be that much better for this start?
"I’m happy if she’s just as good again. Now she’s trained to move forward with the race in her body, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s a little better still. We have some plans to try her in France next year."
How do you assess her chance?
"Based on her last performance, I have to believe strongly in her, but there are many to pass and things can easily get messy along the way. If there’s a decent pace upfront and no traffic trouble, I hope she’ll be very hard to hold off in the stretch."
You also have good insight into Sabine Kagebrant’s 6 Frank S.H. (V85-6), who has shown form lately.
"Finally, we can say that. He’s a very nice horse who’s had his share of issues. He raced in France last winter and that was probably a bit too tough, quite simply. He needed some time to recover and has now made two starts after the break and looks fantastic. Now we hope he can race continuously going forward, because he’s getting better and better. The feeling is that he, too, will deliver a good effort."