V85® (jackpot): Exciting Saturday coming up for Elfving with two E3 finalists
Two years ago, Joakim Elfving had two horses in the E3 finals, one of them being Phantom Express who finished second.
On Saturday it is time again as the successful Romme trainer once more has two qualified three-year-olds in the rich races.
The huge talent City Slicker impressed greatly when winning his elimination and has drawn a dream post, starting from the inside in the final.
"He is darn good and Bergsåker is the best track to have the rail at. The horse is quick out of the gate and it will be very exciting," says Joakim Elfving.
On Saturday it all happens at Bergsåker, which offers a high-class race day with STL finals and above all, the E3 finals. In addition, V85® is boosted by a jackpot and there is SEK 35 million waiting for a sole winner with eight correct picks. Joakim Elfving is enjoying great success with his horses and has shown that he is highly skilled at developing young horses for the major races. Two years ago he had Phantom Express and Unique Princess in the E3 finals for colts and geldings and fillies respectively, where Phantom Express was a very strong second and earned SEK 1 million. Phantom Express has continued to race very successfully and competed in both the Criterium and the Derby and has earned close to SEK 4 million.
Now Joakim Elfving has developed new talented individuals and once again qualified two horses for the E3 finals. In the fillies division he has Aperfectsavior, who finished third in her elimination. And in the class for colts and geldings, Elfving has one of the pre-race favorites in City Slicker, who won his elimination in impressive style and took his third straight victory.
"It is great fun to have two horses in the E3 finals again. It really means a lot to me to have one in each division," says Joakim Elfving.
"A very likeable horse who has never raced badly"
As for City Slicker, he raced very successfully already last year as a two-year-old and won major races such as the Breeders Crown and Svampen. This year the victories have continued and he won the Vårfavoriten at Solvalla among others and now comes in with three straight wins. He has already earned more than SEK 1.3 million.
"1 City Slicker (V85-5) is a very lovely horse that I liked from day one and he has been much earlier than, for example, Phantom Express was. You could tell early that he could start already as a two-year-old and he is an easy horse to work with and keeps developing all the time. Just like Phantom Express did, he races with steel shoes, a set earhood and a regular sulky so there are several gears left for the fall season. He has a very good attitude and just wants to do everything right. He has actually never raced badly," says Elfving.
"I immediately took a liking to the horse"
The Romme trainer found City Slicker at the breeder's farm on Gotland as a yearling and liked what he saw.
"He was out in the field and I immediately took a liking to the horse. Then I went there and looked at him several times during the summer and later he was offered at an auction. I personally had a bit of a buying stop at the time because I had some other horses I was going to sell and it wasn't the right time for me to buy another horse. He is by King City and the bidding did not get very high so he was bought back at the auction.
"But Lennart Ågren, who is the breeder, knew that I had been so interested and had looked at the horse several times. He asked me if I wanted to train him and I was very happy about that. The rest is like a fairytale and it is the same breeder as Phantom Express, Lena Martell, and it is at her farm on Gotland that the horses have grown up. That is how I got connected with City Slicker and the three-year-old filly Aperfectsavior is also bred by Lena Martell and Stall ZENO AB. So Lena is a major contributing factor behind the success with young horses in recent years."
What do you say about the E3 elimination that he won?
"He was darn good. There was a hell of a rain shower just before so the track probably wasn't that easy to race on. He moved up first over and had to work hard the final lap before getting it done in the end. He was very good and is very versatile. He can race from behind and from the front and now he was able to win from outside the leader. It has really been a good development curve for him all year."
"Bergsåker is the best track to have the rail at"
When it was time for the post draw, Joakim Elfving got to choose third and was delighted to see that post one was still available.
"I was just standing there hoping they would call my number so I could go and put the horse's name on post one. The rail at Bergsåker is super good and it is the best track you can have the rail at. Örjan thought so too and it was surprising that it wasn't taken earlier. The horse leaves very well and the goal is, of course, to hold the lead."
"Everything has been good after the elimination and I was out training him today (Monday) and he felt great. Of course, I have to have a good feeling now that we have such favorable conditions. Then the horse still has to have his day and we can only hope that he does like he usually does. If he does, he will be right there at the finish and there are no changes," says Joakim Elfving.
"Will have a healthy balance in the account by the end of the year"
As mentioned, Joakim Elfving also has Aperfectsavior in the E3 final for fillies after she finished third in her elimination.
"10 Aperfectsavior (V85-2) is a nice Readly Express filly who really hasn't been that early but she has done well on the racetrack and taken small steps forward all the time. She has developed with racing and it was very close that she could find a spot in the pocket in the elimination and then she probably would have finished second. The margins are small. From this draw in the second tier, she needs an incredible amount of luck but if she just gets into the race she won't disgrace herself. Barefoot in front was a plus in her last start and it will be the same again. In addition, she may race with a pull-off earhood in the final. This is a horse that we have always said that when we sum up the year she will have a healthy balance in the account. I like the horse and she will become good. She is strong and is starting to get the speed in her legs so there is a lot of development in her."
"Very good form – all the extra gears left unused last time out"
Joakim Elfving also has two more starters in V85 and provided the following information about them.
"4 Pedal To D'Metal (V85-1) has been in good form for a long time and has raced well every time. Before the Elitlopp weekend he had not started for six weeks and then made a small break and lost ground but finished well. Most recent he ended up last and there was no pace in the race and he closed very strongly. It was impossible to make up ground with those fractions and he had all the gears left unused at the finish. Now he has drawn better but we will not be able to race barefoot this time. But it will be lightweight aluminum shoes instead and from a good draw, I think he will be right there, even though it is a very tough final."
"10 Havana Heaven (V85-4) has been in very good form and it was nice that she got to win in her most recent start, in a slightly bigger race and finally get rewarded. She had put in many good efforts before that and finished second several times. She is a filly that has developed all the time but she needs to get more speed in her legs. She keeps taking small steps and likes the long distance here. But she faces a really good rival in La Yuca who starts behind us, though I think she matches the others. She will race optimally barefoot all around and with blinkers," says Elfving.