V75® (Saturday): Fredrik B has a new winning horse – "Portofino's strength is his best quality"
He has trained four Elitlopp starters and raced in Elitloppet ten times as a trainer.
This year, Fredrik B Larsson has no Elitlopp starter, but he could have a class climber in Portofino who was very impressive when he won in V75® in his most recent start and drew a perfect post position in the final.
"I really like this horse and he has improved a lot from last year. His strength is his best quality," says Fredrik B Larsson
The Elitlopp weekend is upon us, with world class trot races Saturday and Sunday. A weekend that brings back many good memories for Fredrik B Larsson and as a matter of fact, he has raced in Elitloppet ten times as a trainer. Giant Superman (3), Milliondollarrhyme (3), Reven d'Amour (2), and Caballion (2) are the Solvalla trainer's starters and their respective amount of starts in Elitloppet.
"That's not so bad for a small trainer," says Larsson with a laugh when it comes up this warm Monday afternoon.
"Fredde B" as he is called, is busy watering the training tracks at Erikssund in Sigtuna, his headquarters. A complete training center where an uphill track recently was added, to make the horses even stronger. A horse that has responded well to that training is Portofino, who could be the next poster boy for the Larsson stable. The 5-year-old gelding was bought last year by Fredrik's girlfriend Karin Dahlman, who also takes care of the horse, and he has done great for his new connections.
In 13 starts, he has won five times and finished second once and in the two starts he has made this year he has shown a lot of improvement. After a brilliant seasonal debut, a blowout win for Portofino, he went on to crush his opponents in V75 at Umåker in his most recent start. Despite a first over trip outside of Mellby Knekt, he easily surged past him to win impressively.
"He got a tough trip and it was good of him to win the race. He was also super in his seasonal debut and the horse has clearly improved a lot over the winter, both physically and mentally. He was a bit of a late bloomer and needed time. But this past winter with all the training has been good for him and it feels like he has grown up now," says Fredrik B Larsson.
"He's a nice horse that I really like and I knew him pretty well already before we bought him. His strength is his best quality and he is actually better over longer distances. He also has a great attitude, as he showed in his most recent start".
"Feels good – tough to hold off down the stretch"
On Saturday, Portofino starts from a perfect post two in the final of Class 1, the first leg of V75. The winner gets SEK 220,000 and the trainer is optimistic.
"He trained in the uphill today (Monday) and he seems to still be in top form. The races are tough this weekend but he has proven to be good for this class. He still feels great and he is tough to hold off down the stretch. If my horse is as good on Saturday as before, he should have a chance to win again".
"He can't leave very fast and he has made breaks in the start in the past, but he has gotten better and this year he's been perfect both times. No changes; he races the same way he has in these last few starts, barefoot and in a regular style sulky," says Fredrik B Larsson.
First time racing in monté in his 109th career start
Finally, we have to talk about the already mentioned Elitlopp starter Milliondollarrhyme, who has been in the big race three times. He has also raced twice in Sweden Cup and on Sunday, he will race during the Elitlopp weekend for the sixth consecutive year. Milliondollarrhyme debuts under saddle in his 109th career start. He comes out in Montéeliten against some very accomplished monté horses. Fredrik B Larsson's black star trotter with SEK 8.8 million in earnings gets jockey Alexis Garandeau in the saddle on Sunday.
"I have thought for a while that it would be fun to try to race him in monté. We tried him in training at Solvalla last Saturday, Jonathan Carré rode him. It looked good and he seemed to have fun and enjoy trotting under saddle".
"We take this start as a test and a fun thing to do. But I got a pretty good feeling and he has been ridden before. He faces experienced monté horses here and we will see how good he is, but it's a bit exciting since he has surprised in the past".