V75®: Dutch trio invades Axevalla
When Jeroen Engwerda and Rick Ebbinge come to Sweden they are usually worth taking seriously.
When Axevalla arranges V75 this Saturday, they come with a very interesting trio.
We know two of the horses from before – the third one is a real winning machine.
Jeroen Engwerda is among the most successful trainers in the Netherlands, where he has s stable in Biddinghuizen, just northeast of Amsterdam. The Swedish bettors have learned to pay attention when Jeroen visits the Swedish racetracks with his horses, who usually are driven by the very competent driver Rick Ebbinge. He won the World Driving Championship when it was last contested, 2019 in Sweden.
Gustafson has the right post position
As V75 this week is being raced at Axevalla, the duo is racing in three of the legs – with three very interesting horses. In the opening leg, their participant is 3 Gustafson (V75-1) who we saw winning in 1:10.8 on 1,640 meters in Halmstad last summer. Just like that time, he also now has a good post position behind the gate on the short distance.
"He is OK now and he was good in a schooling race last week and we are looking forward to this race. When this horse is good, he is very good. He feels good now, but he is up and down so you never really know how he will perform until he is in a race. But like I said when he is on top, he can win a race like this. He is very quick out of the gate and he has a good post position" says Jeroen Engwerda.
Interesting start for the winning machine
We move on to the Klass I-leg to find 5 Zion Font (V75-5) who is in Italian born gelding with a good record, to say the least. In 20 starts he has won 17 races. After a layoff, he returned in his last start at Duindigt, with a win, of course. But on Swedish soil, the winning machine is still fairly unproven. His only start in Sweden was two years ago when he raced in Johan Jacobssons Minne at Jägersro, where he finished fourth behind a certain Campo Bahia.
"Zion Font keeps on winning, but it has been in easier fields than what he is in now, this is his first bigger race. We had him at our Swedish stable already last summer and we had planned to make a couple of starts in Sweden with him, but he got injured and it took some time to get him back. He has only made one start in Sweden so far, as a four-year-old when he raced against Campo Bahia" says Jeroen Engwerda and adds:
"I think he was OK in his return last time and he should be better with that start in his legs. He can leave the gate pretty fast, but it's hard for me to say how he is compared to the opponents".
Velten Versailles was unlucky in Paris
3 Velten Versailles (V75-7) starts in the Bronze division and he has proven himself on Swedish soil before. The six-year-old, with 11 wins in 18 starts, won a Klass II-final on the Åby Stora Pris day two years ago. He now comes off two starts in France.
"Velten Versailles has raced two times in France, but he was unlucky in his last start when he was in a tough race. He was sitting in the pocket behind the favorite, but that horse slowed up a bit and caused interference, in which our horse hit himself on a knee and made a break. He had shown good form in the starts prior and he can also leave the gate real well, but I leave the tactics to Rick Ebbinge".