V75®: Perfect preparations for San Moteur
Scratched out of the qualifying leg.
How are things with the super star San Moteur going into the Paralympic Trot?
"He felt perfect last time he trained, I think he's very close to top form already now" says owner and breeder Håkan Arvidsson.
He was supposed to have raced at Jägersro on April 22.
But a spike in temperature caused the horse to be scratched.
That does not stop San Moteur from coming out as the giant favorite when Åby is hosting the first major race day of the year, with finals both in the King's Trophy as well as the Queen's Trophy for four-year-olds, topped off with the Paralympic Trot for the older elite.
The rules for the latter race state that horses trained in Sweden can only be given wild cards to the final, if they have been entered to any of the qualifying legs.
Therefore it does not matter that San Moteur never actually raced at Jägersro and that the horse – who is undefeated when staying flat since the Swedish Trotting Derby back in September of 2021 – was qualified for an invitation was a given.
And if the opponents had hoped that the favorite would be in questionable form, they will get disappointed hearing the reports from Björn Goop's farm Lökene Gård in Kil.
"The preparations have been perfect. My horse only missed one training day, other than that I have been able to prepare him exactly the way I want. He feels much better than he did before his seasonal debut and will be in much better shape now" says Goop's uncle Håkan Arvidsson, who rarely gives away the reigns of his horse.
Has devloped further
Except for when he races, that is.
And the message after his seasonal debut at his home track Färjestad at the beginning of April was that San Moteur could reach even higher than the brilliant show he put on when he set the world record 1:09.7/2,140 meters with the gate in Jubileumspokalen at Solvalla in August of last year.
"Björn said after his seasonal debut that he thinks he has put on more muscles over the winter and that he's more of a four-wheel-driven horse now, so I think he has developed further this past winter. It feels that way in training too".
We noticed that San Moteur was back racing with the elbow boots again, a sign that he raced with heavy front shoes.
"He raced with his training shoes in that start, but now we will race him the same way he raced in the last two starts last year. That means barefoot behind and with aluminum shoes upfront which is a lot less weight compared to how he used to race earlier in his career and then we can also lose the elbow boots" says Håkan Arvidsson, who will not use any extra gear on his horse.
"There's no need to. He races with an open bridle and both earplugs and an earhood, as always".
How do you prepare him for the Saturday start?
"He trained yesterday (Monday) and I let him trot a bit. I let him speed away for 300 meters, which I always do. He felt very good, I would say perfect, with the recovery and all. He will jog tomorrow and do some light training on Thursday".
Can you compare his form now to his seasonal debut and to when it is supposed to be on top, at Elitloppet?
"It's a big difference compared to his seasonal debut, I see that on the entire horse and on his heart rate. He has felt much better after that start. If I hope that his form will be at 100 percent at the end of May, it sure feels like he's very close already now".
"Never seen that on a trotter before"
What is it that makes San Moteur so incredibly good?
If you look at his pedigree, it is hard to understand why the six-year-old has become such an extraordinary horse.
His sire Panne de Moteur was certainly a good racehorse who won Jubileumspokalen and finished second in both the Swedish Trotting Derby and Elitloppet and made almost SEK 9 million throughout his career.
As a sire he has not made a big stamp so far, though.
The dam of San Moteur, Aung San Suu Kyi is French-bred by Ready Cash and out of a Tenor de Baune mare and only made eleven starts, of which she won three overnights. The dam side goes back to the Arvidssons' super mare Tiba Lavec and has produced many nice trotters, but never anyone of the same caliber as San Moteur.
"I think he has the pedigree to be a star, but I get what you mean since Panne de Moteur is a cheap stallion. The dam side is very strong, but maybe with a bit too much French blood on the dam so we wanted a stallion with a light gait. The cross is also very good with American Winner (sire of the sire of Panne de Moteur) on that French blood. I have a good friend named Mattias Lind who is incredibly good at the breeding game and pedigrees and his first pick for the mare was Panne de Moteur" says Arvidsson.
If you look for answers anatomically, San Moteur’s pasterns (the lower part of the leg, closest to the hoof) often come up.
"He has very long pasterns and that's what gives him that bounce in his stride. That's what all the experts who have looked at him agree on. I didn't think much of it at the beginning, it was when he got close to making his first start that we realized how much speed he actually has and we were looking at what the factor was and came to the conclusion that it was thanks to his long pasterns. Other than that, his confirmation is very good overall".
How many horses have you had with that long pasterns?
"None, I think I've never seen that on a trotter before".
Do you think that San Moteur wins the Paralympic Trot?
"I have to believe in that. The worry I felt before his seasonal debut is gone now. On the other hand, you don't just go out and win these big races, it's never easy and I have enormous respect for the other horses and trainers. But of course, I have to believe in my horse" says Håkan Arvidsson.