V86® (Super Jackpot): "The Little Prince" can repeat the Vårfavoriten success

Superstar Önas Prince is in his final season on the track but has already begun making an impact as a stallion.
Strikingly similar son Prince of Euro can on Wednesday repeat his father’s feat by winning Vårfavoriten at Solvalla.
"Yes, now we will try to continue in the same tracks with "Junior"," says trainer Per Nordström ahead of this week’s V86®.

Önas Prince has belonged to the elite since he was a young horse and despite a racing absence of almost eight months he recently started the year by winning the first qualifying leg of the Paralympiatravet.
The sixteen-time millionaire is thereby qualified for his third consecutive final in the race that marks the start of the Swedish major race season.
However, it is not Önas Prince who is the main topic of discussion when we call Per Nordström this time.
Instead, it is his son 2 Prince of Euro (V86-6).
A three-year-old who shows a lot of visual similarities to his father.
A chip off the old block, you could say.
"He really is. He has a lot of similarities with his father and that is also a hallmark of a good stallion, that he stamps his offspring and is dominant in that way," says Per, who continues to talk about Önas Prince’s "head start" in breeding:
"We haven't gone all-in with him in breeding yet, so far we have only offered frozen semen, since Önas Prince has been racing the whole time. It is a bit more complicated and costs a bit more, but the main goal has always been that with 99 percent certainty this is his last season on the track and then he will stand stud. Where has not been decided yet, but by next spring we will be able to serve everyone who wants, both with fresh and frozen semen. So you could say we have had a small head start with him in breeding and it has worked well, the pregnancy rate has also been high.

Thought the timing was wrong
Now it does not seem to be only the physical traits that Prince of Euro has inherited.
The talented trotter impressed when he won last time in a three-year-old race at Åby, after a fast start and almost equally fast finish, and thereby became Önas Prince’s first winning offspring.
"Yes, he has inherited a lot. He has both the heart and lungs from his father and also seems to handle training well, which is an important prerequisite. You could also see it in the race last time, when Kevin urged his horse (Cay, who finished second ed. note), mine also picked up and just took off. When I saw 1:09.6 for the first 500 on the teletimer I almost thought something was wrong with the timing that day, but when I checked my own watch I realized it was correct. It was about 1:03 speed into the turn, so he can really move. He has tremendous speed resources and also finished very well last time, but is also calm and nice in the hand. He has many similarities with his father."
In the seasonal debut a few weeks earlier Prince of Euro also looked set for victory.
The horse was battling with Sahitå N.N., who incidentally is one of the rivals on Wednesday, but broke stride in the stretch.
"Last time he had a bit more of a racing balance and although nothing is certain I think he would have won the seasonal debut as well, but then he raced with four steel shoes, heavier bell boots and slightly too big knee boots and it went wrong. When I tried to press the accelerator he interfered with himself and broke stride."
Does Prince of Euro feel like a horse that has taken significant steps forward from last year?
"Absolutely. He has had an increased training load and added more muscle. The horse was a bit like that when we started last season, more like a sloppy teenager, he had not quite got things together. But I noticed in the last two starts we made last fall, that the penny had dropped. Now he is even stronger and more mature. You should also know there is a lot of French blood in him and it was similar with Önas Prince, he developed significantly during the summer as a three-year-old. So as I said, it seems the offspring follow in their father’s footsteps," says Per, adding:
"I think Prince of Euro is a horse who should show up in a major stake final this year if we just have the luck needed and things go as planned. That is also a hallmark of a good stallion, if he can produce a stake finalist already in his first crop."

Very pleased with how the horse feels
But first, Wednesday’s task awaits.
Prince of Euro is entered to Solvalla’s early three-year-old feature Vårfavoriten with SEK 200,000 to the winner.
And the stat-minded will know that if it ends in success, he can repeat a Vårfavoriten victory. Önas Prince actually won that very race early in his career, six years ago.
"Yes, now we will try to continue in the same tracks with 'Junior'," says the trainer and continues:
"The draw was good and several of our fastest and best rivals got worse starting positions than us, so I am very pleased with the draw but above all I am very pleased with how the horse feels. So, now we raise the bar and face better and better opponents each time, but you also have to do that for him to toughen up."
We have to believe he has a good chance on Wednesday?
"We have to, even if we know how good horses we are facing. But the draw raised our expectations, he can really move and is very versatile, very strong and can leave well and finish well."
By the way, Önas Prince, when do we see him on the track next?
"You will see him next at Åby on May 9 in the Paralympiac Trot. There are four weeks in between and he does not need another start before that. I had a small plan to start in Örebro in between, but since he won we do not need that. He has felt terrific in the lighter work he has done after the win, so it will be exciting weeks leading up to the final."

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