V85®: The pieces have fallen into place for Frank S.H. – "Feels much better now"
He has impressed in three straight wins and has become almost like a new horse since being gelded.
Frank S.H. is making the long trip to Boden on a mission and will be the favorite in V85 from a good starting position.
"Now the pieces have fallen into place and he feels much better as a gelding. I think he will take the lead and of course we believe he has a good chance," says trainer Marcus Schön.
Boden Racetrack hosts this week's V85 and one horse that stands out a little extra in the card is Frank S.H. in the Silver Division. He has really found his stride during the summer and fall and is now chasing his fourth straight win. Owner Stall Courant and the connections have had high expectations of Frank S.H. since they bought him more than two and a half years ago. Now the coin has finally dropped.
"3 Frank S.H. (V85-7) has above all settled into being a gelding and feels much better now and can get turned out with other horses in the field. He was very study before, and even though it has been quite some time since he was gelded, it was a major adjustment for him and took some time. Now he is in perfect shape, and racing barefoot all around has of course played a part as well. The horse's gait has improved and he clears better now, and all the pieces have fallen into place," says Marcus Schön, who together with Sabine Kagebrant is the private trainer for Stall Courant at Molnebo Farm in Heby.
"We have been waiting for him – high ability"
Two starts ago, Frank S.H. won impressively in V85 at Jägersro, leading from start to finish in 1:10.9/2,140 meters. The start before that, he prevailed from an uncovered first up trip at Bergsåker and held off the fast closing Shogun R.R. Last time out at Solvalla, he just held on from the lead against a razor-sharp finishing Eagle Rock, who got out after a perfect pocket trip.
"For the horse, it was a fairly comfortable race last time when the pace was relatively slow, and although he is fast, he may not be quite as fast when it turns into a speed battle. Mats, who drove him, wasn't worried, and it was probably more me who was worried," Marcus says with a laugh.
"When he won V85 at Jägersro, he was very good and is perhaps at his best when he gets to march along at a hard pace. As I said before, you can see that the horse is performing very well now regardless of position. He has won both from the lead and from the outside without cover, and I know he also races well from behind. We have been waiting for him because we know the horse has high ability."
Ten-hour one-way trip to Boden
Now a 850-kilometer trip to Boden awaits, as Frank S.H. will be the favorite in the Silver Division on Saturday from a perfect post three behind the starting gate. He will be driven by Magnus A Djuse, and trainer Schön is optimistic.
"The horse had a tougher workout this morning (Monday) and still felt very good in the sand on the straight track. He is fast out of the gate and I think he will take the lead from this good post position. Then we hope he can lead for a long way, but I have respect for Wäjersten's horse (Shogun R.R.), who is really good when he is properly balanced. But we'll give it a shot, and we're not going all the way to Boden if we don't believe we have a chance. The trip will take about ten hours, but we haven't worked out the travel schedule yet. He travels well. There will be no changes," says the Solvalla trainer.
Mandrake was locked in with plenty left last time – not out of it despite the post
He has one more starter in V85, and he wants to warn against him despite the post twelve starting position.
"12 Mandrake (V85-3) was boxed in behind the leader last time and finished with plenty left. He had both the earhood and the pull-down bridle still unpulled and gets a little feisty when he is boxed in. Hopefully he can get the benefit of that now, because he also felt very good in a tougher workout this morning (Monday), and you can feel that he has filled out a little more in a nice way after his latest race."
"Before that, he had competed in some tougher company, including Breeders Course at Jägersro, and gained some toughness from that. We hope and believe he can benefit from it now. Naturally, it's a shame about post twelve, but if things work out along the way, he can be right there at the end. In that case, I absolutely think he is one of the horses to consider. We will race with shoes now instead of barefoot, and I think that will be more comfortable for him, and he has raced well with shoes before. Plus, he will race in a Finntack sulky instead of an American sulky, but there is almost no difference," says Marcus Schön.