V85 (multi jackpot): Hard to catch from the lead
Peter G Norman has an exciting Saturday ahead when V85® comes to Solvalla.
He sends out four horses, and his biggest hopes are with VilliamSon B.B.
"From the lead he should be hard to catch," says the hometown trainer.
Another thrilling V85® card awaits on Saturday. Solvalla hosts the races, and a multi-jackpot means an eight-right pool of SEK 60 million will go to those who pick all winners at the capital track. Peter G Norman starts four horses at his home track, and the one he himself assigns the greatest chance of earning a place on the correct V85 ticket is VilliamSon B.B. (V85-3). But the five-year-old has not raced since he finished unplaced when starting from the second tier in the Solvalla Series five weeks ago.
"He isn’t all that good when he has to attack from behind; he's best when he is in or near the lead. Now he has a good starting position and has trained well, feeling very good since his last start. It feels like he’s in good shape, and I think it looks good on paper," says Peter G Norman, who hopes his horse will reach the lead from post four behind the gate.
"I don’t know how quick the others are, but VilliamSon can step out of there pretty well from the start, and if he were to reach the lead, it would be very interesting. As I said, he feels really sharp in training, and from the lead, he should be hard to catch."
"Will race very well"
The Derby finalist Romulus Tooma (V85-5) comes off a dull performance and will now test himself against the older elite, with Francesco Zet at the forefront, in the gold division.
"I figure it’s better to try in gold than to start with a 20-meter handicap in the Big Noon-Pokalen. But I don’t have any major expectations other than that he should keep up and do a good race. He was bad last time in the Breeders Crown semifinal, but he had stomach problems that day. It’s the only time he’s had that, and it passed quickly. After that, he has trained on, and everything feels good, so now we’ll try to sneak him into gold," says Peter G Norman.
Instead, Joker Ima (V85-6) will represent the Norman stable chase Saturday’s biggest winner’s check of SEK 300,000 in the prestigious Big Noon-Pokalen, where four-year-olds start with a 20-meter handicap to the three-year-olds over the standard distance of 1,640 meters. The gelding raced as recently as Friday and crossed the finish line locked in as fourth in the E3 Revenge.
"He got a pocket trip behind the winner and wasn’t completely empty at the finish, even if he became a bit sluggish towards the final line. He’s not as sharp when he's behind horses and had some trot left at the finish line."
This time, Joker Ima drew post nine from the post position draw and will therefore start from the second tier in this volt start race.
"He will probably deliver a very good performance on Saturday. How far that takes him is hard to say, but I think he will race very well if he handles the volt start. When they’ve started a lot behind the gate, it’s not a given that they handle the volt start. He’s a bit eager, but I think he’ll come out of there trotting and put in a good effort. I hope he can race barefoot all around. That would be a big advantage for him."
A longshot in the mare division
If you’re looking for upset candidates that can drive V85 payouts upward, Quinan Tooma (V85-2) could be one. She never got into the race when she last raced in a final of the mare division, but now that she returns in the same class from an interesting inside post with the 20-meter handicap, she may become dangerous.
"She didn't find a spot after the start last time, and then she couldn't make up those lengths at the end. I tried pulling her wide, but it felt like a slight loss of form, so she got a week to recover, and after that, she has trained on to try to find her form ahead of the winter. She has trained well and feels good, and from a good post position, she can follow along on the inside. If the trip works out, she can certainly deliver a good finish."