V86®: Kaffeåchampagne surges ahead: “Lots of training, lots of love”
Kaffeåchampagne has had a brilliant year on the racetrack and is now chasing another victory in V86®. The mare has become a regular in the winner’s circle since joining Beata Persson’s stable this past winter.
"It’s just a lot of training, plenty of work, and lots of love – it’s that simple," explains the trainer when asked about the success.
Just before Christmas, the then four-year-old 15 Kaffeåchampagne (V86-7) joined Beata Persson’s stable.
The mare kicked off the season with a win in V75 and followed that up with a final victory in the Mares division a few weeks later. Since then, the winning streak has mostly continued.
Kaffeåchampagne has six wins in nine starts this year and comes in with two straight victories in convincing style
"She was actually good already when she arrived, and I don’t know if we’ve really done anything differently with her compared to other horses. I think it was more about her not being fully developed as a four-year-old, and now she’s really blossomed. That’s often the case with these French-bred horses – they tend to improve with age. Like I said, we haven’t done anything special," explains Beata and adds:
"She has a real good ‘engine’, and we’ve just given her lots of training, plenty of work, and a lot of love – it’s as simple as that."
Ready for another strong performance
After her start at home in the "Lovely Godiva’s Minne" race at Åby in early May, Kaffeåchampagne got a short break and was turned out for a few weeks.
But in her two starts this summer, she has once again shown her unbreakable fighting spirit.
She won a leg of the Diamantstoet series at Lindesberg and followed that up with another top performance during the Stochampionatet weekend at Axevalla. Despite racing more than 1300 meters on the outside, she won in a new personal best.
On Wednesday, she takes on a new leg of the Diamantstoet series as V86 is being raced at Mantorp Racetrack.
"Oh yes, the form is still there, I think. Sure, she had a tough race last time, but she got an extra day to recover afterward and has felt great since then, so I have no complaints."
So there’s no reason not to believe that she has a good chance to win again?
"I don’t think the competition looks too fierce for her in this race. I can’t imagine there’s anyone better than her over this distance, at least. I think she’ll put in just as strong a performance as she did in her last two starts, and hopefully, she’ll maintain this form a little while longer. I definitely believe she has a good chance again."
She’s already qualified for the STL finals at Solvalla on August 20th – is that the next goal?
"Yes, that’s the plan. After that, we don’t really have many set plans. You can’t really have that with this horse. She usually can’t handle too many starts before she loses form – that’s just how she works. I’m guessing she’ll have three or four more starts, and then we’ll see what comes next," says the trainer, adding regarding Wednesday’s equipment:
"The only change is that she’ll use a Finntack Yankee sulky now – we’re making that change for both horses."
Fantastic debut – progressing since
Both horses, as mentioned. Persson is also bringing another promising horse to Mantorp.
12 Kismet K. (V86-3) is making her second start for Beata. Both Kaffeåchampagne and Kismet K. share an unusual pedigree – both are by the French stallion Butler. In fact, they are the only two offsprings of that sire born in Sweden in 2020.
"Yeah, I think he only has eight offsprings in Sweden, but they seem good. Maybe we should bring him back to Sweden…" says Beata.
Kismet K. finished fourth in her last start in a leg of the Mares division.
It was a very positive performance, especially considering her odds were over 70 to 1 and that she hadn’t raced in more than two months.
"I think she made a fantastic debut for us, even with a little interference – she nearly broke stride on the stretch. She seems to need a smooth trip in the races, but she’s still developing, even if her confidence isn’t quite there yet."
What are your expectations for her in this race?
"She feels great and should have improved with that start in her legs. At the same time, I think this Mares division race turned out pretty soft – it only took just over 600 points to get in, which isn’t normal for this time of year. The horse is strong and can do the hard work herself, and we’ll race her accordingly. We have high hopes for her too – I don’t think she’s any worse than the others in this field."
So, it could be a big success for the stable on Wednesday?
"Yes, if things go our way. But both horses start with a handicap, so we’ll need a bit of racing luck for it to work out," says Beata Persson.