V75®: Dreams of taking on the best in the world
The Axevalla licensed trainer would love to race in Elitloppet.
But first, the popular hometown hero Unico Broline will try to make it to the final of the Paralympic Trot at the beginning of May.
Could he win the Saturday leg in his second start of the year?
"He still carries some extra weight and he is not in top form. But we hope he can still make it!"
The Paralympic Trot (former Olympic Trot) tour comes to Skara and Axevalla racetrack this Saturday for the third out of four legs.
12 horses go up behind the gate in the fifth V75® leg. Who will grab a spot in the final at Åby on May 5, with SEK 1.5 million to the winner?
Sofia Aronsson trains and co-owns Axevalla's poster boy number one who has been aimed at this Saturday's race all winter.
Unico Broline is the class climber who almost never races badly.
In September of last year, the now seven-year-old gelding won his gold division debut at Åby. Somewhere there, a thought was planted in trainer Aronsson's head. A thought or a dream rather, of trying her horse in some race or races against the best trotters in the world in 2023.
After a four-month-long break with rest and winter training, Unico Broline won his seasonal debut in an open class race at Färjestad at the end of March. He then raced with shoes.
This Saturday, he will race the way he is at his best and which is also a huge part of his incredible journey - barefoot all around.
"It felt best to let him race with shoes in his first start back and he was fine like that too. On Saturday he will go back to racing barefoot as usual. He did not race with pullout earplugs in his last start either. But he will this time. If the track would be sticky it won't bother him. He is very versatile and he can handle all types of track conditions. Unico is not in top form but he's getting there. If he needs one more start or not - well, I guess we will see on Saturday" says Sofia Aronsson.
We nourish his attitude
The tough guy from Axevalla made a few starts as a two-year-old and he made his first V75 start in the bronze division, in November 2021.
From bronze to gold in a heartbeat. This year, the connections are hoping that the horse will get to take on the best trotters in the world.
"His best feature is his attitude. So we nourish that and do all we can so that he will keep his giant will to win. But now that he's in the gold division, he will race against the best every time. We hope that he can take another step and show that he is good enough to race in the big races, too" says the Axevalla trainer.
What do you mean by the big races?
"Well...let's see if he makes it to the final of the Paralympic Trot first. That's a big goal. Then, of course, there's always a dream of more. But the Group 1 races in general. Which of them remains to be seen" says Sofia.
What about Elitloppet - a dream for many?
"Of course, that's a huge dream we have with this horse. He was in the talks about Elitloppet at the end of last season. But he has to race really super in his coming starts for us to be invited. It comes down to that. You won't get invited based on what you did last year!"
On Saturday, Unico Broline and Erik Adielsson start from post position nine in the second tier behind the gate at Axevalla and the race is tough. What are your thoughts?
"It's a good field! 10 Aetos Kronos is one of many good horses and he is not an easy horse to beat. Good for us that Aetos didn't draw a very good post position either, even worse than Unico. Our post position could have been better but it could have also been post 8 or 12. So I'm fine with 9. You can twist and turn the arguments forever when you discuss post positions".
What do you think of his chances to win?
"Of course, he has a chance to win but it's no walk in the park. Tactics and trips will be key factors in determining the winner. Who will be in the lead, for instance?"
In the silver division, you have another good chance on paper. 3 Golden Guard (V75-3) came to you from Claes Svensson and has started off the year brilliantly for you with two convincing victories. Last time out, he won a three-kilometer race, but Golden Guard is also versatile and has shown to be very good on the sprint distance as well?
"He's a very nice horse, very nice to get to work with him. It feels like he takes steps forward with each start. He feels even better in training now after his last start. The feeling I get, even though I haven't driven him, is that the long distance is not his best, I think sprint or middle distance is the best for him. Due to the draw, Golden Guard should have a better chance to win than Unico Broline, I would say. Plus, we also know that Golden Guard is in very good form. If the track is good, he will race barefoot".
Finally, 11 Nina Ginto (V75-7) who goes out against the boys in the bronze division from a bad post position?
"She was in a sprint race last time out and they left way too hard and kept driving. All the horses up front got tired and the ones in the back of the field did well. I think that when you use her speed in the start, she has nothing left at the end. So now we know that. She should be in the same form now, maybe better, when she races back in only two weeks. Nina needs a trip, though. With cover the last kilometer, she can close fast. So with a perfect trip and good cover the last kilometer she is one of the horses who can win. No changes on her, she races as she usually does" says Sofia Aronsson, red hot trainer on V75 this week.