V75®: Good chance for Walmann's winning machine – but watch out for her stablemate
S.G.Empress made a break as one of the favorites in the Queen's Trophy, after Roger Walmann pulled her shoes.
Last time out, the winning machine returned to the winner's circle in a Margareta race as a consolation.
On Saturday, she has a perfect post position in the Ina Scots Ära – but trainer Walmann puts out a warning for her stablemate, Great Pride.
"There is no doubt that S.G.Empress is one of the four or five best younger horses I have ever trained. But I think the bettors should watch out for "Greta". If she holds up the lead, she will be raced there and she should be tough to beat," says the Solvalla trainer.
The Elitlopp party at Solvalla is over for now, and V75 trots on to Mantorp this Saturday. Note that the home stretch at Mantorp is only 177 meters. The Ina Scots Ära is a race honoring one of the track’s best horses of all time, open to 4-year-old mares, where the winner receives SEK 200,000. Roger Walmann has two starters in the race, and they start from the two inside posts. S.G.Empress, with 13 wins in 18 career starts and SEK 3.6 million in earnings, will attract the most betting interest of the two. She won the final of the short E3 last year and was one of the favorites in the Queen's Trophy at the beginning of May after having won her elimination. Trainer Roger Walmann decided to race the mare barefoot in the final, but that ended with her making a break, just as the previous time she raced barefoot. It was an indigestible loss for trainer Walmann, who reflected on the break in the Queen's Trophy, when S.G.Empress in the following start won a Margareta race at Solvalla.
"You will make mistakes as a trainer, but I was pretty sure that she would be able to race well barefoot, the way she felt in training. I think the break was due to her racing without shoes, and it's on me. I'm not saying she would have won if we had kept the shoes on, but I screwed up, no doubt," Walmann admits. He also adds:
"It was nice to see her back to normal last time out, and she was perfect again. It was a nice race for her, and she won without having to go all out."
Where would she rank compared to all the great mares you have trained?
"It remains to see how good she is when she is five or six years old and how far she can go. But she is one of the four or five best younger horses I have ever trained, no doubt about it. It is always hard to compare horses from different eras, and time will tell how far she goes."
"Drew the best post – one of the winning candidates"
2 S.G.Empress (V75-6) drew a perfect post position with post two behind the gate in the Ina Scots Ära. This time, she will be driven by Rikard N Skoglund, since her regular driver, Örjan Kihlström, chose to go with 9 La Yuca instead. But that is nothing that trainer Roger Walmann worries about.
"I have nothing to say about that since I'm used to it. The one Örjan picked is also a fantastic mare. I won't waste any energy on that; we will make the best of it with the driver we have," says Walmann.
What is the status of S.G.Empress going into the Saturday start?
"She drew a perfect post position, post two is the best possible for her. She is fast out of the gate, but if someone is faster, at least she will be in the two-path. Everything seems fine with her, and if nothing happens, she comes into the race in good shape. I always have respect for the opponents, and we also have a new driver, that fact should not be overlooked. He needs to get a feel for her. Normally, she is one of the winning candidates, and I'm not making any changes," says Roger Walmann.
"The dark horse of the field – the bettors need to watch out for her"
He takes the opportunity to put out a warning for the stablemate starting from the inside post, Great Pride. She closed well to finish second to S.G.Empress in her last start.
"1 Great Pride (V75-6) is the dark horse of this field, and I think the bettors need to watch out for her. Besides the Queen's Trophy elimination, she has raced fantastically in all her starts. Last time out, she was terrific when she had to go three-wide the last 600 meters, and she is in top form. She has raced great many times even if she only has one win. She has often raced against the very best from bad posts," says Walmann.
"If she can hold up the inside, she will be raced in the lead, and I think she will be tough to beat then. I'm not sure she can hold up the lead, though, but she feels like she would be quick."
"It's all up to the driver to decide. Claes has driven her many times and knows her well. He has to choose, but if you ask me, I would like to see her in the lead. She might be better coming from behind, but we will see then. It feels like she's due for a win, and she races barefoot all around again and in an American sulky, so no changes on her either," says Walmann.
The caretaker of both S.G.Empress and Great Pride is the experienced Malin Boman-Friberg, who has worked for Roger Walmann for many years.