V75® (multi jackpot): Back on track chasing his fifth Swedish Championship title
On Saturday, Månlykke A.M. will make his first start since April – and he’s thrown straight into the fire, chasing his fifth Swedish Championship title.
"I’ve had the Swedish Championships as a target for a while," says the fan favorite’s trainer, Gunnar Melander.
Månlykke A.M. (V75-2) hasn’t been seen on the racetrack since finishing second in a V75 race in mid-April.
"He became sore in a hoof, which was a bit tricky, so he had to take it easy for two weeks. After that, he’s been training continuously, but since he had that break where he did nothing, we chose to wait a little with racing him. It would have been tough to go up against the Norwegian horses and all that, so we thought we’d save him for the Swedish Championships instead," says Gunnar Melander, who is pleased with his soon-to-be six-million (SEK) earner.
"He’s trained exactly the way I’ve wanted, so his form is good and I expect him to put in a strong performance. I’ve been able to prepare him well, just as before his previous Swedish Championship starts, with the difference that he hasn’t had a race beforehand this time. But when he trains according to plan, he usually performs well, so I expect a good effort."
Chasing his fifth – and Melander’s 20th – Swedish Championship title
As usual, Magnus A Djuse will be trusted in the sulky, guiding Månlykke A.M. from a post position in the second tier. The pair start post nine behind the gate in the nine-horse field, with SEK 300,000 awaiting the winner over 2,640 meters.
"Of course, starting in the second tier is what it is, but there aren’t that many horses in the race, and he has good horses in front of him to follow, so it looks fine. If he had been up at the gate and taken the lead, someone might have come up and pressured him. Now he can follow along instead, and that feels good."
There is no lack of opponents. The main rival on paper is Järvsöodin from the inside post.
"Besides my horse, I think Järvsöodin, Ulvsåsen, and Bäcklös Uriel stand out a bit above the rest."
Månlykke A.M. won the Swedish Coldblood Championship three years in a row before Järvsöodin broke the streak in 2023. Last year, Månlykke A.M. reclaimed the throne with his fifth championship title. His trainer, however, has many more championship titles on his résumé.
"In the Coldblood Championships, it’s 14 total. If you include the Mare Championships and Monté Championships, it’s 19. So, we’ve been there before and at least know that it’s possible to win."