V75®: Elfving's big moment
Two chances for two million.
Joakim Elfving stands upon the highlight of his career when Phantom Express and Unique Princess go out as two of the favorites in the E3 finals.
"I have never felt this type of anticipation before a race day," says the Romme licensed trainer about the high-class races at Färjestad this Saturday.
It is the first big battle of the year for the 3-year-olds.
On Saturday, the crop of 2021 will crown a king and a queen at Färjestad Racetrack.
One of the lead characters, Joakim Elfving, has a starter in each final and could experience the biggest success of his career.
This after a dark season last year when his horses had their worst results in recent times with a winning percentage of 12 and SEK 2.4 million in earnings.
The start of 2024 has been brighter with a winning percentage of 17 and over SEK 2 million in earnings, so far.
A number that can be tripled on Saturday, should he go two for two with Phantom Express and Unique Princess.
Thanks to both horses being enrolled in the so called "premiechansen", the prize money is doubled in the E3 finals, where the first prize already is SEK 1 million.
Going two for two is exactly what they did in their eliminations, as they both dominated from the lead.
"That was one of the most fun race nights I ever experienced. I was thinking about it the other night, if I ever had a better night at the races. When you work toward something for so long and you succeed, that both horses could win the way they did. One in each class. It was unique, at least for me," says Elfving about the two 3-year-olds that a year ago were in quarantine when strangles disease was discovered in the Romme stable area.
"Of course, that was some tough times, even if they never got seriously ill. They were in quarantine for over a month which made us lose two months of training. But in hindsight, maybe something good came out of it too. Young horses usually get sick in different periods, but this bunch never had as much as a snotty nose. Maybe their immune system got a boost, I don't know, but I've never had a bunch of young horses staying as healthy as this one".
Why are things going so much better compared to last year?
"Because the horses are healthy. Not just the 3-year-olds, but all of them. We were struggling with a virus for a long time, but that's all gone now and things have snowballed. The horses can absorb the training and the starts in a different way. You really see on them, how they take steps and get better, that wasn't the case last year".
"We have pretty much the same setup with both training and feed. The only change I made was to start training them on the deep sand track in the summer of their 2-year-old season. In previous years, we waited a bit longer, but I think we found out what works best now. It has had a positive effect on them, they are stronger and more race ready, body wise".
You train fewer horses than earlier, why is that?
"We had almost 80 horses earlier, but that was too many. We have cut down gradually. We have 35 horses now, but I want to have around 40, which we do since we have some horses out doing rehab training. But more so, I want to have more young horses and swap out the older ones. The young horses are my passion".
Why is that?
"I love being able to do all the work from day one. I think we have a concept that seems to work on all types of young horses, whether they have that top-notch pedigree or an older pedigree. I want to produce horses who do well at age two and three".
Have you done all the work from day one with both your two finalists on Saturday?
"Not with Princess, she got broke before we got her. I picked out Phantom myself when I saw him in a field as a weanling. It was a coincidence since we were on vacation on Gotland, but I liked what I saw and decided to buy him".
What was it you liked about him?
"His body. He has such depth and a great rear end motor. Plus, a beautiful head. His conformation might not be perfect, but his body is fantastic looking, just the way I want a horse to look," says Joakim Elfving.
"Much better form in the final"
After making a break in his racing debut, Phantom Express has done everything right on the racetrack and has won every start but one, when he got out too late and had to settle for second.
Unique Princess' road to the top has been bumpier with two wins in six starts before the E3 eliminations.
It showed in the payouts, where the former was the mega favorite in his elimination and the latter was 6-1.
But when training down, the roles were opposite.
"Princess has an incredible gate and she was the standout in training. Physically, she almost has it all, she's an all-wheel drive and does it so easily. The only thing I worried about was her attitude. She was green and immature in her first starts, but now I think she has shown that she knows what racing is about and, in the elimination, she was fantastic".
"Phantom's best quality is his attitude. He is like Zlatan. Cocky, but calm and confident. He is smart, but sort of a diva. I think he has always known how good he is, it just took me some time to understand it too. When I saw him in the elimination, it was like something lit up inside me, that's when I realized that he is a better horse than I ever thought".
Are they the most promising horses you have trained?
"I always said that Incase of Fire was the most promising horse I trained. He beat Borups Victory, trotting outside of him twice, and was one of the favorites in his E3 final but after that, he had a lot of issues. But these two are at least as promising as he was, and hopefully, their future is brighter".
How did they come out of their eliminations?
"Very well. Both didn't race for six weeks coming into the eliminations. It was by design with the plan that they would take steps and be in much better form in the final. Phantom was a bit sluggish; you could tell. But after that start, he's had a different bounce to his stride and been more alert. He will definitely be in better form in the final".
"Princess felt great after her elimination too. We also have an extra gear saved on her. She raced with pullouts for the first time in her elimination, but we never needed to pull them. They had a good effect on her in training".
How are you getting them ready for Saturday?
"They are training at the Romme track on Tuesday this week. They will go a 2,100-meter heat just to get them extra sharp. After that, they will just relax until the final".
Phantom Express wasn't able to hold up the lead from post one in his elimination, what do you think about the tactics in the final?
"There are twelve great horses, with twelve great trainers and twelve great drivers in the race. I have lots of respect for all my opponents, in both classes. We drew well and I think he can take advantage of the post position. Considering how my horse feels in training after his last start, I think that he will also be able to leave better and have a chance at the lead. If he gets the lead, we will absolutely not let anyone go. No changes on him, he will race the way he has".
What about Unique Princess?
"I think she can also leave faster than in her last start when the driver didn't leave hard with her. Same thing there, I would love to see her in the lead and if she gets there, she will be raced there".
You have left both your horses singled in the "V75® Expert Picks", is that how confident you are, that they both should win?
"I feel that I have two horses with the potential to win if all goes our way. All the preparations have gone according to plan and there is no reason to not believe in them. Many times, when you are in these bigger finals, the feeling is that it will be tough to win. Even if you have a really good horse, there's always someone better. I don't feel that way this time".
How do you feel about the possibility of winning two such big races and SEK 4 million?
"It's very exciting. I never felt this type of anticipation before a race day, I have to admit that. Even if we don't win, there's a lot of money to make. If either one of them would make it all the way, that would be fantastic!"
Are you nervous?
Not yet. But when that clock counts down, my puls will increase and the will to succeed will come out. Right now, I just have a nice feeling in my body and I really look forward to Saturday, says Joakim Elfving.