V85® (Saturday): The Unterstiners are fired up for the trot fest at home in Halmstad
The Sprint Championship weekend is approaching.
That means you know the "Untersteiners" are fired up to the teeth.
Everything is in place for an excellent weekend for the powerhouse stable on home soil. Thirteen horses will race – on V85® alone on Saturday.
And perhaps their sharpest winning chance of the weekend has been saved for last.
"After a first look at the races, I’d probably have to say that Nilla Lane is our very best chance," says Peter Untersteiner ahead of the festivities in Halmstad.
At the beginning of July every year, one of the Swedish summer harness racing classics is decided.
It is time for the The Sprint Championship in Halmstad. The "weekend" already begins on Thursday when the main event The Sprint Championship is raced, but then continues on Saturday with more high-class sport and this week’s regular V85® card.
Halmstad is also home to Team Untersteiner.
They enter their home track’s big weekend at full sail – and have at least one horse in every V85 division on Saturday.
"Yes, it’s fun, we have a lot of horses racing both Thursday and Saturday. Now we just have to hope we get a bit of luck with the weather as well, we’ve had such bad luck with the weather this weekend in recent years and now it feels a bit unsettled this year too. But the forecast changes every day... I hope we get a wonderful festive atmosphere in Halmstad," says Peter Untersteiner when we reach him for a chat on Sunday evening.
Peter has just studied the fresh fields and gives us his first thoughts on the total of thirteen horses set to race on V85.
Let’s take it from the beginning.
Developing nicely
Two horses go out in the opening Mares Division. 1 Run Rhapsody Run (V85-1) starts from the starting distance, while 9 Call Me Ottilia (V85-1) is starts with a 20-meter handicap.
"Run Rhapsody Run is a fighter. She struggles a bit with her gait, sometimes has trouble keeping her gait together but always does her best to help out and it’s five straight clean races now. She battles well, as I said. She’s a little hesitant from the start and will probably end up a bit back from this post, but in return she fights all the way home."
"Call Me Ottilia raced great in three starts for us, but in her most recent start in Tingsryd there was a really tough opening for her so she got tired in the end because of that. She’s had a bit of renovation afterward and has trained okay lately, but she may still be a bit hard to assess. At the same time, she has shown she measures up well in these mares races, so I think she is the better chance of our two, even if "Rhapsody" is developing," says Peter.
The second V85 leg is the Wången Cup final for apprentice drivers.
Jonas Oscarsson from the stable gets the drive behind capable 11 Due Due (V85-1), who finished strongly as runner-up in a race during Elitloppet weekend in his most recent start.
"Due Due is in very good shape now. He rallied nicely in his last start and has trained very well afterward too, so I believe in a good performance now. He has only made two starts this year, there have been many leg issues for this horse before but now, knock on wood, he feels fairly sound and there’s a good chance we’ll see really nice development from him going forward. The second tier is what it is, it’s a handicap race, so we just have to avoid too much traffic trouble along the way but the horse is good for this race. We hope it will be a good chance if there isn’t too much trouble because the horse is starting to blossom now."
Prospect with a lucky draw
In the Class II leg, the Untersteiners send out two starters.
1 Matti Ruisma (V85-3) has shown good ability even if he has not always been reliable, but comes off a win. Peter himself takes the reins behind 8 Oxford Boko (V85-3), who drew a difficult post.
"Matti Ruisma is a useful type of horse. But he’s a little temperamental, either he tries too hard or too little... But from this draw he can probably get a nice race, he’s probably not a candidate for the lead though, but if he gets a nice trip then anything can happen. The horse is good for the class.
Oxford Boko made an unmotivated break most recent, that was unfortunate. But we hope and believe it was a one-off and otherwise he has definitely done okay. He feels as he should, so we try again, then we got a difficult draw here and Matti Ruisma is probably the better chance of the two."
In the lowest class, Class III, an exciting mare lines up.
1 Preposterous (V85-4) has started her career well with four wins in five starts but has not been seen on the racetrack since mid-April ahead of this start.
"She has had some issues before and that’s why she has made very few starts in her life so far but everything looks good for her at the moment and the draw turned out well. It’s been a while since she raced now, she’s had a bit of renovation after her most recent start, but everything feels good and she’s had a workout on the track and feels as she should. She can probably leave fairly well from the start and the volt start is probably a small advantage for us too. I wouldn’t be shocked if she won here, I really wouldn’t."
What about 2 Sefyr Lane (V85-5), who had won three in a row before breaking in Copenhagen last time out?
"Sefyr Lane was very nervous from the start last time and the break came shortly after, that’s not something he usually does so we hope and believe it was a one time thing. He has felt good afterward so we believe in another good performance now. He has won six races this year and that’s probably not just luck, we got a good draw here, he leaves well and keeps improving in most things. He will race with pull-down bridle for the first time."
You drive 10 Our Brodde (V85-5) in the same race. Thoughts there?
"He was okay in Norway in his most recent start and he’s on the way up in form, he has only made two starts this year so far, but he seems to be doiing well. He’s a perfectly okay horse for this race and will race barefoot all around for the first time for us now, we hope that can work out well."
On the way back to form
The race for the top class is the Gold Sprint, raced over one mile.
The Untersteiners have two horses in. Peter drives 1 Boscha Diablo (V85-6), who piled up wins in the winter and returned to the winner’s circle in his last outing.
"Boscha Diablo looked very good last time out, it was only a matiné race but the way he did it suggests he is starting to return to his true self, because he was very flashy in the winter. It looks like he is more and more returning to that form. We got the rail here, but probably can’t be part of the early speed, even if it’s a small advantage for us that it’s 1,609 meters this time. I’ll try to stay involved as much as possible early, and hopefully we can get a nice trip from there," he says and continues about his stablemate in the race:
"9 Dancer Brodde has been flat in two starts now. We’ve adjusted the training a bit lately and he feels good. Training reports are positive, but at the same time, now it’s time to prove it here. The second tier is not an advantage for him, he doesn’t like the gravel in his face, even if he has handled it lately."
Here you face among others A Fair Day who impressed most recent, what can we hope for from your duo?
"It’s probably correct if A Fair Day ends up favorite in the race, but behind him Boscha Diablo could maybe be involved, he’s heading in the right direction and Dancer Brodde has shown before that he’s really good, even if he is a bit of a question mark at the moment."
Nilla Lane getting better and better
We turn the page in the program and note 5 Alvena Roy (V85-7) in the Silver Division.
The gelding has shown sharp form in his most recent starts and even if ihe finished second in Kalmar in his most recent start, he really went down fighting.
"Yes, I felt sorry for him last time out. He got pressured hard in the lead, but he really battled all the way home anyway. He is entered barefoot all around again now on Halmstad’s nice, soft track and we got a good draw, because he can leave really fast. I still don’t have complete control of the opponoents but we like the draw we got, we saved his hooves lest time and if he has just recovered from that race the right way, then it certainly looks good here."
Saturday’s finale is the Diamantstoet. The stable has two starters – both have impressed greatly this year.
But 1 I’m Still Standing (V85-8) gets a real challenge this time when she faces stablemate 7 Nilla Lane (V85-8), who has emerged as one of the country’s best mares and is undefeated in three starts this year.
"I’m Still Standing was brilliant last time out in Vaggeryd, three-wide and moved up outside the leader and she hung on tremendously. She has really shown form lately, but now she faces completely different horses. She has made the least amount of money of everyone in the race, but the mare just keeps developing all the time. It’s also nice that we got such a good draw, she can probably get a nice trip from here."
What do you say about Nilla Lane then – she just seems to keep getting better and better?
"Yes, she keeps developing all the time, it’s an enormous number of wins she has taken now and it’s probably no coincidence that it has turned out that way. That means she is good," says Peter and continues:
"I think it was a good draw she got, actually. It’s a handicap race and we probably hadn’t expected to get a first tier draw, so I almost think this was the best possible draw. She is normally very quick out of the gate. We haven’t completely decided yet this early, but she may race barefoot all around, which would be the first time."
Could Nilla Lane be your best chance on Saturday?
"I probably have to say that. At the same time, I think we have quite a few horses in the discussion, but after my first look at the races I’d still probably say that "Nilla" is our very best chance," concludes Peter Untersteiner.