V86: "Pingis is one heck of a horse – I think he can win"
He delivered a fantastic effort in his seasonal debut when he outclassed his opponents and won by open lengths.
Pingis was, after that, one of the favorites in V75 at Jägersro – but the horse came up sick that day.
He is now fit to fight again, and his trainer, Carlos Söderström, has high hopes going into the long-distance race at his home track.
"He's one heck of a nice horse, and I think he has a chance to win the race," says the Åby trainer.
Åby and Bollnäs share the hosting duties of V86 this Wednesday, and in Mölndal, there is a long-distance race over three kilometers, where the hometown trainer has found a good spot for Pingis. Carlos Söderström presented his trotter in the best possible shape in his seasonal debut, which ended in a blowout win for Pingis in Halmstad. The horse was mighty impressive when he made the move to sit outside the leader with 1,300 meters to go, put pressure on the leader in the last lap, and took over the lead before the last turn. Pingis just disappeared from his opponents, and after that effort, the horse was one of the favorites in the following start, in V75 at Jägersro. The 6-year-old stud horse finished fifth in 1:12.2/2,140 meters, but was not healthy that day.
"2 Pingis (V86-5) came up sick, with throat issues, and his blood count was also off despite a decent time and effort in that race. Stefan Persson said that it wasn't the same Pingis that day. He followed the race winner for the last 700 meters but could not keep up down the stretch. There was a reason for that. Stefan said after the race that he didn't think the horse was sick, but it turned out that he was," says Carlos Söderström.
"He was turned out until the blood count was back to normal, and he has trained for some time now. I just came in with him (Monday morning), and he feels great now. Today, I trained him a couple of long intervals in the uphill, and he trained tougher last Friday, with several intervals in the uphill. He feels even better than before his seasonal debut; he has a better bounce to his stride now."
"The distance is good, since he is very strong"
On Wednesday, he returns to the races at his home track, in a long-distance race over three kilometers where Pingis starts with a 40-meter handicap.
"The distance is good for him, since he is so strong and not so quick in the start. The latter has been a bit of his Achilles heel, especially in middle-distance races, but it doesn't make much of a difference when the distance is 3,100 meters."
"He faces some good horses and we can't just show up and expect to win, but this is one heck of a good horse when he's right and I think it feels like he his now. If he has a good day, he will be right there, because, like I said, he's very strong. But he also has a lot of speed and can trot 1:11 on the middle distance, too."
"He's a fantastic horse who has gotten better each year, and he raced super a few times last year when he raced back-to-back weeks and won in 1:11 over 2,100 meters. It feels like he has taken another step this year, and he means a lot to me," says Carlos Söderström.
The horse is entered with shoes all around, after having raced barefoot behind in his first two starts of the year. What are your thoughts on that?
"The difference is so slight compared to when he races barefoot behind, and now that the distance is 3,100 meters, it will be harder on his feet. He benefits more from racing barefoot when it's 2,100 meters, and he becomes quicker in the start. Now that it's a long-distance race, there is no disadvantage to racing with shoes. Other than that, no equipment changes. A regular style sulky and an open-eye blind bridle."
What are the plans for Pingis after this start?
"If all is well now, he has a nice V75 race in Tingsryd on June 7, over 2,400 meters. We will probably race there."