V85®: Took a clean sweep last year – now Horse of the Year Dream Mine is back
Victories in the Derby, the European Derby and the Breeders’ Crown – and the title Horse of the Year to crown it all. The most interesting seasonal debut of the year takes place on V85® when Dream Mine lines up in Berth Johanssons Memorial at Umåker. "I would not rule out the Elitlopp, he has shown that he is at that level," says trainer Jörgen Westholm.
Talk about a clean sweep in 2025.
After the dominant victory in the Swedish Trotting Derby, it was another bullseye in the European Derby before the season ended with a win in the Breeders Crown and more than SEK 9 million earned as a four-year-old.
For his achievements, 8 Dream Mine (V85-6) was also awarded Horse of the Year at the Horse Gala in March.
When V85 on the first Saturday in May is held at Umåker – it is time for Dream Mine to make his first start as a five-year-old.
Berth Johanssons Memorial, for the elite of the same age group, will be the first test of the year.
Trainer Jörgen Westholm is in the car when we reach him by phone on Monday morning.
"It will be a very exciting seasonal debut now. He has had a good winter and everything has gone the way we wanted, unfortunately we got a bad draw for Saturday, but that happens sometimes. At the same time we knew it would not be a good post position, but post eight is never fun and there are good horses against him. He will also race with shoes on Saturday and that might not be optimal for him, so to speak. But he also feels very good, so we hope it will go well," says Jörgen.
It is almost half a year since we last saw him on the track, has the winter training gone according to plan?
"I think so. There has been a lot of heavy training during the winter and in recent months we have started to increase the speed work a bit and he has looked good in those workouts. He is not sharp yet, though, he has more distance in him. We do not really train that way with faster workouts, but he has trained together with horses racing, in the way I like to do it."
We will see what they say on Saturday
Dream Mine comes into his seasonal debut with eight straight wins.
Despite the fact that the son of Maharajah has belonged to the top of his generation since his debut, he has only made seventeen starts so far.
Now an extremely interesting start to his five-year-old campaign awaits.
"No, he has not made that many starts yet, so there is more to come. He will improve with racing and can also get better in terms of balance, he still races with an open bridle and that kind of equipment. It does not feel like he has been pushed that hard yet."
What are your expectations for him this year?
"It's hard to say, but we hope he is as good as last year and that was very good, so if he can continue competing at that level he has shown, that is what we expect."
The Elitlopp is only a month away – is that on the radar for Dream Mine?
"We will see what they say on Saturday... We'll make this start first, then we will see how he performs there and he has the possibility to start once more before that if needed. So we will see, but I would not rule out the Elitlopp, he has shown that he is at that level."
But despite the tough draw, it must be a good chance on Saturday?
"I think so. We have a fantastic horse who has also performed fantastically so far, so as I said, it will be exciting."
The chances increase from the lead
Dream Mine is far from the only horse the Solvalla trainer is sending north this weekend.
Five more horses will be onboard the truck and Jörgen Westholm takes the time to give his input on the quintet.
"5 Paleo Boko (V85-2) looks good in training after a short break and the draw was good, so I definitely think he should be competitive in this class. He is entered barefoot all around, but it will probably be barefoot in front this time."
"6 Guli Hektor (V85-4) has gotten a lot of heavy training and has also looked good in the workouts, he can usually perform well right off a layoff so we hope he behaves and then he should be in the mix. He is not always reliable, but when he behaves he often performs very well."
"1 Eagle of Oak (V85-5) had a couple of top performances last year and then got a long winter break, but he has trained hard in recent months. Here he got an interesting starting position because he showed last year that he can leave well behind the gate and if he takes the lead I think his chances increase a lot, at least in training he has shown himself to be a typical frontrunner."
"6 Longfellow (V85-8) has been racing for a while and shown good form, he was locked in with plenty trot left last time and he has been developing steadily since he was gelded, improving with every start now."
"7 Lifelong Journey (V85-8) had some good performances last year and I think the distance now will be an advantage for him. He has also gotten tough training in recent months, he has trained well and is well prepared, so I expect a more aggresive approach on Saturday, then we will see how far that takes him."