V75® (Thursday): Kolgjini poised for a big night at the Sprint Championship

The trot-fest weekend in Halmstad kicks off on Thursday with one of Swedish Trotting’s biggest summer highlights – the Sprint Championship.The best four-year-olds battle over the mile, starting with four eliminations and culminating in a final later that same summer evening, where the winner takes home SEK 1.2 million.

One of the positive surprises this year is 5 Luke the Spook (V4-3).He began his racing career in North America, where he competed just below the elite level in the brutally tough three-year-old division last year.
After arriving in Sweden this past winter, Luke the Spook, who is a brother to last year's winner of the Queen's trophy Karaboudjan, has already shown glimpses of brilliance for his trainer Adrian Kolgjini.

He was an impressive runner-up in the King's Trophy two starts ago, and recently won easily in his prep race for Thursday’s big battle.
“That was the perfect prep last time out. He got the exact trip he needs, covered up, and that’s when he’s at his best. Everything is well with him after that start. He feels great and is exactly where we want him.
He was insanely good in Kungapokalen too. We have very high expectations for this horse, and now he’s starting to prove on the track what we believed about him, that he’s a real top-class trotter,” says Dante Kolgjini.

In Kungapokalen, it was Free Time Jepson, trained by Alessandro Gocciadoro, who was the winner. But Luke the Spook, starting from post 12, delivered a spectacular finishing rally to finish second.

The two will hopefully square off again, in a new final.“Of course, we have huge respect for Free Time Jepson, he’s a fantastic horse, but I think our horse is a bit more versatile and benefits from the distance thanks to his explosive speed.
He can win under multiple scenarios. We’ve trained him to peak now, but I still think there’s more development to come.”

“He should be lightning-fast behind the car, if you choose to leave with him. I’m not sure how Adrian will do, but I think he trusts the horse enough to race in the two-path, or even three-wide,” says Dante, adding about the equipment:“We’ll race him with shoes in the heat, and then we will see if he will go barefoot in the final.”

“It doesn’t feel right to speculate on that just yet—it’s up to the horse. He’s shown the talent and ability for that level, but, it’s our job to help him take those steps forward.”

Luke the Spook isn’t the only contender from Kolgjini stable in the Sprint Championship eliminations. In fact, they’ve got a horse in each of the four eliminations. Dante tells us:

"7 Poblano (V4-1) has very high ability and speed, but things haven’t really worked out in his recent starts. He needs to deliver like he did earlier in his career to be compatible. This is more of a test to see where he stands.”

"3 Langli (V4-2) felt great last time, and it really seems like we’ve got him figured out now. He’s got the speed to make the final and will race with pullout earplugs for the first time.”

"2 Duplantis Pellini (V4-4) had a throat infection last time and had to take a break, but he’s trained very, very well. Apart from Luke the Spook, this is probably the one I’m most excited to see. He posted solid times over this distance in the U.S. last year, and this kind of race should suit him—especially if he can just roll at a high tempo. He’s a bit quirky in style, but he functions better when he can set the pace. He’ll go barefoot behind this time.”

While the Sprintermästaren eliminations happen before Thursday evening’s V75 kicks off, the Mares' final is part of the V75 card.

The eliminations were held the previous Monday, and the Kolgjini stable won two of them.In the final, 4 Kilimanjaro Face (V75-6) is the stronger candidate, says Dante:“She finally felt just right last time out and has been feeling very, very good since then. Her last race screamed form.
The post isn’t ideal, but I think she’s fast enough to get to the lead anyway, and if she does, she’s got a very good chance of winning this.”

She’s entered to race barefoot all around for the first time.
“Yes, she’ll race barefoot all around now. It feels like she’s ready for it, and that’s something that often gives a big boost the first time you try it.”

“She won in a good way in her most recent start and is definitely progressing, but I think she’s still not at the same level as Kilimanjaro Face.We’ll be happy if she can grab a nice checks here. She’ll also be racing a lot lighter, going from steel shoes with pads to aluminum shoes with pads. She’s more of an underdog here, but she’s improving steadily.Her main goal for the season is the Mare Derby, that’s where we want her to peak.”

“Ursula was bad in her last two starts, so we brought her back home. She was at our Stockholm stable, but didn’t like it there.She got a little break and responded well, she’s feeling good again now. She might be a bit short since she hasn’t raced in a while. We also drew a tough post, but she is pretty talented.”