V85® (jackpot): Last season for Önas Price – "I am very pleased"
It’s time for the first leg of the Paralympiatravet qualifying rounds when Jägersro hosts V85® with a jackpot on Saturday. The home track’s big star Önas Prince makes his comeback ahead of his final season on the racetrack. "I’m very pleased with all the preparations. The draw couldn’t be better and we’ll step on the gas straight away," says trainer Per Nordström.
The Paralympiatravet final usually signals the arrival of spring and is also the first major race of the season in Swedish trotting, taking place on May 9 at Åby. Now it’s time for leg 1 as Jägersro traditionally hosts the first qualifying race. V85® is once again boosted by a jackpot with SEK 49 million in the pot for eight correct picks. From a racing perspective, the return of Önas Prince stands out in the Gold Division. The star horse, who has earned over SEK 15.8 million and won many major races, has had a fantastic career. Together with his long-time partner Per Nordström, the duo has thrilled trotting fans for many years, but all stories come to an end. The nine-year-old stallion is making his final season on the track this year before becoming a full-time breeding stallion.
"He is getting older now and the plan is that this will be his final season. He will retire at the highest level and not go around smaller tracks chasing minor prize money. We will therefore pick our spots and aim to repeat what he did last year, starting with the Oslo Grand Prix and then Jarlsberg. The Copenhagen Cup is also part of the plans," says Per Nordström.
"He might make a few more starts this year than before, but if I feel that it starts to take a toll on him mentally or physically, then I will take him off the track immediately. He has done so much for us and we are forever grateful, so we won’t try to squeeze out the last drop," says Per.
"Now the little princes are coming – full focus on breeding next year"
Önas Prince has "dabbled a bit" in breeding with frozen semen in recent years and among many promising offspring, one standout has emerged in the three-year-old Prince Of Euro, who won convincingly as recently as Wednesday.
"Now the little princes are coming and Prince Of Euro is almost a copy of ‘The Prince’. We haven’t gone all in on breeding yet, but after this season we will find a good breeding farm for him and go all in next year. With fresh semen he can cover even more mares and he will breed full time."
"Has had a slightly different setup – very well prepared"
Önas Prince has not started since finishing eighth in Åby Stora Pris on August 16 last year. The start before that he was fourth in Hugo Åbergs Memorial, and prior to that he won a major race at Jarlsberg. “The Prince” was also second in Oslo Grand Prix last year, losing in a photo finish to Kentucky River, whom he faces again now. It has been eight months since his last start ahead of Saturday’s comeback. According to trainer Per Nordström, the horse has had a long and solid winter of training and is well prepared for his seasonal debut.
"3 Önas Prince (V85-4) was a bit worn out after his last start last year and delivered a weaker performance. He didn’t function properly and was given a longer break before resuming training. He was back in racing condition towards the winter, but in December you couldn’t race barefoot and I also didn’t want to start him on hard tracks. I take good care of the horse and therefore waited until spring and have been aiming for this race at home for quite some time," says Per Nordström.
"The horse is very well prepared and I have trained him with more volume than before previous seasonal debuts. It’s a slightly different setup in that he has trained heavily in the pressure cart and in sand but hasn’t done any fast track work. I’ve trained him lightly on the training track but haven’t pushed him to higher speeds, but I’m very pleased with all the preparations."
"We hit the gas straight away and race with his optimal equipment"
Önas Prince won the Paralympiatravet two years ago and now makes his comeback in the first heat, which is also the Gold Division.
What do you think about the conditions with post three behind the gate in the seasonal debut?
"The draw is very good and he is very quick from the start, so the tactics are fairly obvious. We will step on the gas straight away and race with his optimal equipment, meaning barefoot and an American sulky. However, I think it will be a pull-down bridle this time as I don’t want to use a blind bridle if he gets too fresh and blasts to the lead and just runs off, maybe going 1:10 the first lap. He’s probably just as eager to start racing again as I am, so we’ll go with the pull-down so he stays nicely in balance."
"You should never underestimate the opposition and I have great respect for a horse like Kentucky River, who has already had his seasonal debut and performed well. You can’t just expect my horse to beat them straight away, but of course I believe in a good chance. If he wins, he will pass SEK 16 million in career earnings, which is a nice milestone."
"It will be great fun to get the season started on Saturday," says Per Nordström.