V75 (Jackpot): Rackham not just a participant in Åby Stora
An unproven card in the European trotting elite last time out, when he came up with a five star effort.
After Hugo Åbergs at Jägersro, Christoffer Eriksson is not overly afraid of the opponents in Åby Stora Pris on Saturday with Rackham.
"Hopefully my horse will be in even better form and 3,140 meters just feels exciting".
Åby Stora Pris (V75-7) on Saturday is full of experienced horses, where most of them have been reoccurring in the major races in recent years.
Christoffer Eriksson's Rackham is on his way up and despite his lack of experience, he is not just a participant on Saturday, not just in there to learn.
The six-year-old chestnut horse is among the least experienced horses in the field and he has barely established himself in the gold division. Things have moved rapidly the last month, though.
Rackham's show of strength and easy win in the gold division at Halmstad's Sprint Champion weekend got him an invitation to Hugo Åbergs Memorial where he came up with another great effort.
Robert Bergh drove as Eriksson was suspended and he drove like he had a horse with many millions in earnings.
"My horse came up with a five star effort and he was only two lengths from the winner. Too bad he only finished fifth after such an effort, but it was great to see how good he looked. We have known all long that Rackham is this good even if he needed a couple of extra starts to get in top form this year" says Christoffer Eriksson.
Just like last year, he needed a few starts to find the right form.
"I think that after having been off and then having done a lot of heavy training over the winter, he simply needs a few starts to get into the right form".
Given on the V75 ticket
ATG offers an extra nice jackpot this weekend with potentially SEK 50 million to a sole winner after the difficult card at Rättvik last Saturday, where the pool for all seven winners remained untouched.
Having Rackham on your V75 ticket sounds like a must if you listen to the man who knows the horse best.
"In the class he is now, there are only good horses. But he is one of them. Surely, the form of the day and the trip will determine the winner on Saturday. 1 Hail Mary is probably the toughest opponent and 12 Milligan's School, who won last year, will be dangerous despite the post position. But he is right there somewhere...I have a lot of faith in my horse".
Pretty pleased with the post position
The winner of Åby Stora Pris receivs SEK 1.5 million and a win would mean that Rackham almost doubles his lifetime earnings.
The post position in the second tier is something that Christoffer Eriksson is pretty pleased with.
"It's both good and bad you could say, when it's a 3 kilometer race. He is not that quick out of the gate, so with an outside post position, he would have risked getting a wide first turn. It's all about getting a good position. Now he already is where he should be, in the two-path".
How has he been in training after the start at Jägersro?
"I think he still feels good and I know that he is still under development. Hopefully he will be in even better form on Saturday. And I think the distance is interesting, too. He has only raced in a 3 kilometer race once before, when he was four years old, and he won that race easily. I felt already then, that those long distances could be good for him as an older horse".
You always emphasize on Rackham's motor - his heart and his lungs.
"Already when he was little, he felt like a horse for the top class. That he hasn't had the body until now doesn't matter since he has improved all along. He has the ability to maintain a high speed for a long time in a race. So I hope there will be some racing between some of the others in the race on Saturday. That would benefit us" says Christoffer Eriksson.
What do you think, does it really sound like the Jägersro trainer is talking about a newcomer in the elite?