V75®: Time for Önas Prince to step up to the top of the podium
It was a five-star effort last time out, according to his trainer.
After his most recent start, Önas Prince should be very close to top form.
With a bone chip removed last fall and a custom designed sulky, the star trotter is ready to take on the stake season.
The Paralympic Trot will be the first stop.
Spring is here. Regardless of the temperature in Mölndal on Saturday.
The final of the Paralympic Trot is the natural start of the stake season in Sweden, Per Nordström looks forward to the race optimistically.
The Jägersro trainer's superstar 7 Önas Prince (V75-7) has made two starts thus far this year. Both have been victorious.
"I trained him a tough heat yesterday (Sunday), and I was surprised by how low his heart rate was after that, he is in very good form right now, I would say close to top form. I expect a great effort again on Saturday," says Per.
The eleven-time millionaire (SEK) was very impressive when he won a qualifying leg, last time out.
Despite things not going exactly according to plan. The acknowledged quick starter Önas Prince had to trot under 1:07 speed the first 500 meters, just to sit parked outside the leader. Still, he was able to win the race.
"It was a fantastic effort by the horse. To be able to handle that tough start of the race, and still fight to victory was a five-star effort in my book," says the trainer and adds:
"The only little mistake has been corrected for this start. We have ordered a custom designed sulky just for him, similar to the one he raced in earlier, but further modified, making it wider, so that he won't hit the inside fork which he has done. This sulky is classified as a regular style sulky”.
A successful surgery
Önas Prince has been a star since the start of his racing career.
The son of Chocolatier had a magnificent 4-year-old campaign that brought almost SEK 7 million after wins in The King's Trophy, The Sprint Championship, and The Breeders Crown. He also finished second to the impossible Calgary Games in the Swedish Trotting Derby.
But after two seasons at the highest level, the big wins were still missing. Last year was, despite winning the Copenhagen Cup and finishing fourth in Elitloppet, not what the connections had hoped for.
An explanation was found in August.
"Yes, it was a bone chip fracture that was surgically taken care of. A small piece of bone chipped in his left knee, and I have earlier compared it to running with a small rock in the shoe. It hurt him, especially late in a race when the lactic acid started coming which made him get a bit rough gaited. That's what happened in the Elitlopp final last year, for example, when I just had to focus on keeping him trotting, and we still finished fourth. That bone chip is now removed, we are past that and he feels terrific. That's why he can dig in and battle to the wire like he did in his last start, and had he still felt that bone chip, he might not have been able to do that".
With two starts in his legs, after the eight-month-long hiatus, Önas Prince is now ready for serious business.
"It would be natural that these two starts have gotten him in better form. He had an easier week following his last start, but after that, I pushed him pretty hard in training, so that he feels even sharper for this start – and if he gets an Elitlopp invitation, he won't need much tougher training, he should be in good enough form then".
The plan is set
Per Nordström does not make his plans after The Paralympic Trot a secret.
Önas Prince has participated in Elitloppet for the last two years. In 2022, he made an unfortunate break in the last turn of the final. Last year, he finished fourth.
The trainer hopes to be third time lucky.
"Yes, I have made it clear that that's what I hope for. He has shown twice that he belongs in that race, he has made it to the final both times and he is incredibly quick out of the gate, so he has shown that he is good enough. The first year we raced in Elitloppet, he made a sudden break, and maybe that's when that piece of bone chipped".
So, you have not made any other plans than racing in Elitloppet following the Saturday start?
“No, I am waiting and hoping for an invitation".
Your thoughts on the Saturday race, you drew post seven behind the gate?
"Of course, I would have liked starting closer to the inside, but we know that the horse is very, very quick out of the gate and as I said, with this new sulky I hope and think that he can leave even faster, meaning we should have a bigger chance of reaching the lead. But he has shown that he can win with a different trip too," says Per Nordström.