V75®: "I haven't had such a talent in a long time"
Olle Alsén's star trotter M.T. Insider has been retired.
He is now hoping that Doldis will be the horse who makes the stable take off again.
"He is really good. I think he can win on V75 on Saturday" says the Gävle trainer.
Olle Alsén has experienced a lot with his former star M.T. Insider. The two-time millionaire (SEK) closed out his career in May by winning Travrondens Speedrace during the elitlopp weekend. It was his fourth win in the much appreciated race and Solvalla will from now on name the race 'M.T. Insiders Speedrace'.
"What a great day it was. We decided early that we would go for this race one last time and then we would retire him. We couldn't have gotten a better ending" says Olle Alsén.
Producing horses like M.T. Insider is not an easy task for a small trainer. Now, Olle Alsén seems to have a horse who could be the new king of his stable. Four-year-old gelding Doldis has proven to be an extraordinary talent.
"You have to be humble when you talk about horses who have more or less just started their careers, but I haven't had such a talent in a long time. He's a very nice horse and he's getting better and better with each start".
2 Doldis (V75-7) has, so far, 'only' won two out of 18 starts, not a lot, many people think.
"He definitely doesn't lack the will to win. As a three-year-old, he just raced to learn. The owners are very good and they give him all the time he needs. We didn't have any expectations of him last year. We just let him come along at his own pace. This year we have raised the expectations and he has responded well. I don't know how many races we have lost by just centimeters lately, all together it might be a meter. It's tough of course, but he is a bit lazy and he is coming around more and more".
Aiming at the Derby eliminations
Doldis has tried his luck in a bigger stake race before. He finished fifth in a King's Trophy elimination back in April and wasn't far from making the final.
"He only missed the final by a head and we got proof that Doldis is a good horse and we hope he can step it up further, going forward.
The trainer now aims at the Derby eliminations at the end of August.
"We want to try him there and the long distance is just an advantage, he is strong and he can hold his speed for a long time".
On Saturday, when V75 comes to Rättvik, the Gävle trainer has found a nice race for his horse, before going to the Derby eliminations.
"This race is perfect. It's a long distance race and it sits perfect in the calendar. We drew a good post position and Doldis has learned to leave the gate faster. I think my horse is good enough to be battling for the win and I don't think I will make any changes, possibly he might race with hind shoes, but he trotted 1:12 two starts ago with all four shoes on, so it doesn't matter much. We will wait until the Derby elimination to take all four shoes off'.