V75® (jackpot): Lövgren's two top trotters returning
The first leg of the Paralympic Trot and jackpot millions in the pool.
This Saturday at Jägersro has every possibility of becoming something extraordinary.
Especially for Joakim Lövgren who has eleven starters on V75.
"Some of my horses come from good efforts and some have felt very strong in training" says Lövgren.
Training 13 percent of the horses on V75, you can easily say that Joakim Lövgren is ready for this weekend's races at his home track. His stable is represented in all of the seven legs and the armada contains a mix of horses making their seasonal debuts and horses currently racing.
"We're in the spring season now and I have many horses who have trained well over the winter. Some have already started racing and some are making their seasonal debuts. We have been able to avoid illnesses and injuries and have had good training conditions. We have been able to prepare the horses without interruptions, so it will be very interesting" says Joakim Lövgren in the podcast 'V75 - Lördag hela veckan'.
"Both look powerful in training"
In the feature of the day, the first leg of the Paralympic Trot, also L.C. Peterson-Brodda Memorial, Lövgren sends out two old warriors, both returning from injuries.
"11 Racing Mange (V75-7) fractured a coffin bone in his last start. He got a long rest and now he has felt like the old Mange for several months. He is nine years old and you know horses can't race forever, but when you sit behind him it doesn't feel like the candle is burning out. I get the exact same feeling behind him as before".
A bad post position this time brings down his opportunities, though.
"Had we had post one to five, I would have gone to the gate with the knife between my teeth. Now, from post eleven I have to be quick to take whatever is given to me in the race. But even if you have a horse in top form, it's hard from post eleven at Jägersro".
9 Sevilla (V75-7) also drew in the second tier as he is making his first start since Copenhagen Cup, back in May of last year.
"Sevilla fractured an ankle that had to be screwed back together. That was a more serious injury than the one Mange had, but the surgeon did a very good job and the horse was never lame and he has healed very well".
"Both horses have felt like they did before their injuries and they have been given plenty of time. You never know with old horses who have been injured, but they have been given the chances we deem necessary for us to have a fun year with them this year again. They both look powerful in training and they are well prepared".
Good post position and trains super
If Joakim Lövgren's two gold division starters have tough tasks ahead of them, it looks better on paper for several of their stable mates. Especially for 1 Lady Beluga (V75-1), who drew the inside in this short distance race.
"She has started from post one once at Åby and she managed to hold up the lead that time. That was early on in her career, but she is pretty quick out of the gate".
Last time out the six year old mare, who has won 10 of her 15 career starts, made a break, but that was from a tricky post five in volt start and in training all is well.
"She feels super! She made a break in the start last time when horses came charging to her outside. I knew there was a risk of that happening and she has done so before and I had already put that behind me when I came off the track with her. I expect to get the same kind of effort from her that I get pretty much every time she races, she has been very consistent".
7 Jeans'n Passion (V75-1) comes out in the same race and is the horse that Lövgren gives the highest number on the 'expected effort scale', which goes from one to ten, compared to previous starts in the podcast 'V75 - Lördag hela veckan'.
I would give her a nine or a ten on that scale and I think she gave me the same type of effort in her last start already. It was just the traffic trouble she ran into that cost her the win. We got stuck behind bad cover and she was flying home. That was actually her best effort since she came to us, even if she couldn't catch the winner. I have complained that she has been sluggish even when she has won, but last time out in Kalmar she had really woken up and she will race well. But I would have liked a better post position, obviously".
"Should be at the right level"
Joakim Lövgren has more good chances to win on V75 and here are his comments on his other starters:
"1 Lucky Guy Boko (V75-2) was a little immature mentally last year. He won a couple of nice races without really excelling, he was a bit shy. The past winter did him good and he feels more like a complete race horse now. He looks like a grown up horse body-wise now and even if he lost his seasonal debut, he raced well. He had to go first up in a long distance race. He got tired at the end but with that start in his legs, he should be able to manage the long distance this time".
"6 Fantom Godiva (V75-2) has raced surprisingly well lately, considering his temper. He has pulled in the lead, but has still managed to trot a quick last kilometer. He has raced in cheaper classes, to be honest, but he has looked promising. He always has, in training too. In his last start the track was a bit hard from all the rain, which was no good for him. That's something to keep an eye on for Saturday, if the track will be good or not. He likes when the track is like a trampoline. Then he has a lot of potential and he could finish top three with a good start and a good track".
"5 Oscar L.A. (V75-3) is a pretty heavy set horse. He is not that tall, but he is pretty bulky. We are struggling with his weight, he easily puts on a bit too much so I've made sure to have him well prepared for his return so he would get a fair chance. I have trained him twice at Jägersro so he should be in good shape. I think I owe him that, he is a nice horse who has done many good things in his career and he has a great attitude. He is in a tough class now and to take him out just to give him a start is not something that I, Oscar or the owner benefit from. I have trained him so that he would be at the right level now when he comes out".
"9 Nocture Zon (V75-4) is a very, very quick mare. She now has a start in her legs and I think she should be good enough in a race like this".
"14 Divane Godiva (V75-4) has climbed up through the classes so there are not a lot of suitable races to choose from for her. She is very quick in volt start and I was hoping for a better post position, then she could have gotten a ten meter jump on the others. From post position four, we can't expect much. She is a strong closer but I don't think her chances to win are that great here".
"3 Under Armour (V75-5) always races well. He has an attitude that makes up for some other things. You don't really get the feeling when you sit behind him that he would be extraordinary or so, but he has a way of getting the job done. He is not better nor worse than before. What you see is what you get".
"11 Global Action (V75-6) is a horse who is good enough to race in V64 races and sometimes V86. For him to have a chance in a V75 race, I would have liked a better post position and maybe a chance to sit behind a favorite. I can't see him go around an entire field from post position eleven. We have to be fair to the horse and say that the way the draw came out, he really doesn't have a chance to win".
V75 this week comes with a jackpot and according to the calculations, the pool for all seven winners picked will be around SEK 50 million. Most likely, The Lövgren stable will have a lot to do with how those million are divided...