V75 (Sunday): Untersteiner has six chances for Derby success

Six years have passed since Johan Untersteiner's most significant moment on a racetrack. 

In the 2017 Derby, he passed the finish line as a winner together with Cyber Lane after a tough finish. Could it be his turn again this Sunday? Untersteiner has three chances to upgrade his wardrobe with another yellow Derby jacket. 

The eliminations that were held on Tuesday of last week were hectic for the Halmstad trainer. His stable had starters in all the twelve eliminations, both for the Derby as well as the Mares Derby. It resulted in six finalists. Three in each division. All six horses finished second in their eliminations. 

"My horses delivered and we have several nice horses in the finals. Of course, I would have liked to win some of those races, and we came pretty close, but the most important thing was that they raced well and it's nice to have six horses in the finals. We will see on Sunday, that's where the money is" says Johan. 

Johan's choice in the final of the Swedish Trotting Derby was, of course, 7 Dancer Brodde (V76-6). 

He has been the favorite for quite some time to win this year's wide open Derby. Not least since he won the Breeders Crown as a 3-year-old last fall, and the King's Trophy this spring. 

In his elimination, he had to settle for second, after having started from post twelve.

"I think he raced great; I was very pleased with his effort; he behaved very well behind horses and delivered a very good last kilometer. Kolgjini's Barack face was just too good. Hats off to them, they had a better horse that day". 

That meant a post position pretty far to the outside behind the gate, but still on the gate. That must be important?

"Since he can leave so fast, and far from everyone in the race can, it felt good to be in the first tier behind the gate. He can step out of there pretty well, so I will leave with him and then we will see what happens". 

Your tactic is pretty given. Or?

"Of course, if I get to the lead, I want to race him there, no doubt. But we will see what happens, I don't think I have to be in the lead to be able to win the Derby with him, even though it's the shortest road to the finish line" says Johan, who also informs us about an interesting change;

"I'm planning on racing him barefoot all around for the very first time in his career. We have never tried it before, so we will see when he gets up behind the gate on Sunday. You have to gamble a bit, too". 

Untersteiner's other starters are more of the longshot type. 

But 6 Love Keeper (V75-6) and 11 Global Dubhe (V76-6) are no newcomers on the scene, either, They have both shown a good improvement curve this year. 

"Love Keeper is a little pony who has shown incredible improvement, he was not a horse I had thought much of when the season started. The owners are from Halmstad, and their biggest dream was to have a horse in the Sprint Championship, so we raced him there and he finished third in his elimination, which was a huge surprise to us. I never thought he would race just as well over the long distance; I thought it be a disadvantage for him but as I said, he has had a fantastic improvement curve. In the final, he is racing for a check, though". 

What about Global Dubhe, who raced very well in his elimination?

"He's a horse that I have had high hopes for all year. We started him off very carefully, but we have raised the bar for him during the season. Unfortunately, he made a break in the final of the Sprint Championship, and in his Derby elimination, he got an impossible trip the entire first kilometer. His Achilles heel is that he can't leave, it was an easy choice to pick post position eleven for him. He likes the long distance, which he showed last time out, so I think he's a bit of a dark horse this time. With a high pace, he will pass many down the stretch". 

The Mares Derby comes a bit earlier on the Jägersro race card on Sunday. 

As mentioned earlier, Untersteiner has three starters in this final as well. Johan chose to drive 6 Mary Ann Lane (V75-3), who earlier this summer finished third in Stochampionatet. 

"I think she puts up good efforts all the time. She's a mare that I didn't even think was one of our best ones as recently as this summer, but she has really taken huge steps. She has been able to race continuously and has stayed sound in her legs, which she struggled with as a 3-year-old. She just gets better and better with each start". 

"I have driven her all summer with good results and from a decent post position it felt pretty given that I would drive her". 

"Bikana Wine is a mare that I think has had a lot of bad luck this summer. She has shown good form for a long time now but hasn't gotten the results. Last time out, she finally got a nice trip and showed that she could keep up with the best ones out there. She will get a nice trip here and hope for a high pace; she is pretty strong and can maintain a high speed for quite some time" says Johan and continues:

"My dad drives Mellby Korall and he has gotten good results with her, they won a Breeders Crown leg two starts ago. She also raced well in her elimination, from a bad post position, so all my horses are in good form". 

"I think it looks like an even field, and the distance is 'only' 2,140 meters. These mares are so even, the trip usually decides who wins and we drew pretty poorly. There are a few good mares that won their eliminations so winning might be tough for us. If we can get some good money, then we are happy".