V75®: The world's best coldblood back in the spotlight
He won his seasonal debut yawning.
On Saturday, the coldblood phenom Odd Herakles comes out on V75 at Momarken.
"If things go the way I think, we will be in the lead halfway through the first turn" says driver Tom Erik Solberg.
Odd Herakles has kicked off another racing season. The stallion who has won 63 out of 134 starts and made SEK 10.5 million is back after the tendon injury he suffered back in August.
"The leg seems very good. The injury was discovered early. He won that race during Östersund's Derby weekend and two days later he came up lame. But it was discovered right away and he got treatment and rest. But he is getting older and there's a lot of pressure on the legs at the speed he goes, so you never know, but it looks good" says Tom Erik Solberg in the podcast V75 - lördag hela veckan.
Wednesday last week, Odd Herakles made his first start back since the injury and it ended with a walk in the park victory from the lead.
"He was good but it wasn't much of a horse race. He left fast and then he sprinted off at the end and won very easily. It didn't feel like he's in top form, but he felt good. I chirped at him with 150 meters to go and he was in full control of the race himself".
With that race in his legs and with a perfect post position despite starting with a 20 meter handicap, Tom Erik Solberg is optimistic going into the Saturday start.
"We can expect him to be battling for the win. It's not an easy race but if things go the way I think, we will be in the lead halfway through the first turn. He is very quick in volt start and he drew the best possible post position. So all I have to do is time the start perfectly and come with full speed and drive on until I have passed them all in front of me".
Can win Elitkampen for the third time
The Odd Paulsen trained Odd Herakles has won Elitkampen in front of an empty grandstand two years in a row and the aim is set at defending that title, on the last Sunday of May.
"It would be fun to win Elitkampen in front of the crowd once. I think he will come into Elitkampen this year at least as good as he was last year. I know those are big words but I have a lot faith in this horse".
The first prize in Elitkampen goes up from SEK 500,000 to SEK 1,000,000. But it's not the money that makes the race so special.
"The purse money is also important, but that's something you don't think about until afterwards. The experience and the prestige of winning such a race go above everything else. But it's cool with a million to the winner".