V75® (Good Friday): " I actually don't know how good he is"
The fan favorite A Fair Day closed out last year with five straight wins.
On Friday, he makes his seasonal debut and he goes right out in the spotlight in a tough V75® race.
"He feels fantastic and I have to be optimistic," says driver Oscar Ginman.
A true sign of spring for trotting fans is the Easter weekend and Spring Race with V75® four days in a row, which culminates on Sunday with a dream jackpot of SEK 100 million.
There is also great racing to look forward to. Many of the best horses in the country come out on racetracks again after having spent the winter training. On Good Friday, Färjestad traditionally hosts V75 and they are offering a great race card with Hertigen av Värmland, Prins Carl Philips Jubileumspokal as the feature. Seven 5-year-old trotters are chasing the first prize of SEK 300,000 as well as eternal glory, and several are making their first start of the year.
One of them is the Kalmar based horse A Fair Day, trained by Elisabeth Almheden, who closed out last year by winning his last five starts. Among them, the Breeders Crown final with a SEK 1.6 million first prize and he has become a fan favorite.
"It will be super exciting and I have looked forward to this for a while," says driver Oscar Ginman.
Sharp in training
A few weeks ago, A Fair Day was given the chance to try racing speed again and he did it flawlessly.
"I wanted to try him behind the gate and took the opportunity to give him a sharp training trip. He jogged 1:13/2,100 meter and was nowhere near tired. He's a fantastic horse and he does it so easily. He's simply born to trot fast. He also feels great after that workout".
Was there any certain reason why you trained him that fast?
"We wanted to give him a real workout since we had this start on Friday in mind. I have seen this race in previous years and besides the fact that there are always good horses, it's also a race that always goes very fast. I'm sure you need to trot in 1:10 or faster to win this race".
How fast do you think A Fair Day can trot?
"I don't know, I have never maxed him out and I actually don't know how good he is".
He is very fast out of the gate, what is your tactical plan?
"I have to leave with him. I have no idea how the Italian horse Diamond Troppo is, I have read that he can leave fast, at least in Italy".
Are you making any shoeing or equipment changes?
"No, we will race him exactly the same way we did last year, barefoot all around, in a regular style sulky, and an open bridle".
How do you estimate your chances of winning?
"I hope we are right there in the photo with a decent trip, but if we get parked outside the leader, it will be tough".
Many people want to see A Fair Day in Elitloppet, is that something you talk about?
"Actually, no. It's an invitational race, so there is nothing we can do about that. We will not go out chasing a spot and race him in Gävle the week before, for instance. If all is well with the horse after the Friday start, we aim at Kjell P Dahlströms Minne at Mantorp on April 15. Anything can happen, but that is the plan, at least".