V75® (Wednesday): Walmann's super pro the horse to beat
Bedazzled Sox won the draw for Margareta Wallenius-Klebergs Pokal and is the horse to beat.
"He is better than ever and it would mean a lot to me to win this race", says Roger Walmann.
Solvalla hosts a true trot fest on Wednesday. V75 with Margareta Wallenius-Klebergs Pokal and the European Championships for Mares are just two of the goodies on the hefty menu.
The winner of Margareta Wallenius-Klebergs Pokal gets, besides SEK 1.5 million, a spot in the history book together with the top trotters who have won this race. The last ten winners of Margareta Wallenius-Klebergs Pokal (former Jubileumspokalen) are Francesco Zet, San Moteur, Aetos Kronos, Missle Hill, Who´s Who, Makethemark, Readly Express, Nuncio, Nimbus C.D. and Support Justice.
The post position draw was conducted last Thursday and the Solvalla-trained Bedazzled Sox drew the inside post.
"I'm obviously pleased with the post position. I'm not certain that he can hold out all of them initially but regardless, he will get a good trip. It couldn't look better on paper", says Roger Walmann.
Bedazzled Sox has been a star from day one. He has been among the top of his crop and won three out of four starts already as a 2-year-old. As a 3-year-old, he won seven out of eleven starts, including the long E3 final, and made SEK 4.3 million. The success carried over into his 4-year-old campaign when Bedazzled Sox won five out of twelve starts and made over SEK 2 million.
"He's a fantastic individual, a super pro, simply. It doesn't matter if it's training or racing, he does everything right".
Better than ever
This year, the plan for Bedazzled Sox was to try his luck against the older elite but after a promising seasonal debut, he got sick and missed most of the races in the spring.
"The winter training went on perfectly and I was pleased with his seasonal debut at Åby. Something happened after that, and he got some form of infection. We couldn't notice anything in training, but something wasn't right. We decided to back off and aim toward the fall season instead".
That decision could prove to be golden. Bedazzled Sox has raced super in his last two starts after the time off. In his first start back, he was locked in and finished second behind Double Deceiver. In his most recent start, he was parked out by the race leader the entire race. It did not matter; he was much the best and won in 1:11.4/2,140 meters
"It was a rock solid effort and I had a feeling he would make it despite the tough trip. He has trained fantastically and has stepped up another notch this year and I think he's better than ever".
Can you expect him to be even better on Wednesday?
"I hope that he will be at least as good and the plan has been to have him in top form for this race, we are talking nuances, I can't be anything but pleased with my horse and I have to be optimistic".
How big would it be for you to win this race?
"It would be huge, not just because of the money. I had a long and fruitful relationship with Margareta. She was a fantastic, warm human being, who did so incredibly much for our business".
What does the future look like for Bedazzled Sox?
"We will make this start first. Since he had a bit of a hiccup, we will be pretty careful with the amount of starts he makes this year. He is five years old and that's often a pretty tough season. I'm sure he will try the gold division on V75 at some point, and maybe the Swedish Championships, but we will leave it up to the horse. Next year, we will aim higher and hopefully, he can race in the big races".
Roger Walman has two more starters on the card, but they both lost the draw and will start from post eight.
"That's unfortunate, of course, and it will be tough. Freako (V4-4) is a complicated and temperamental horse. He has way more talent than the money he has made so far, but he makes it difficult for himself. Should he behave and get a good trip, he could surprise. S.G. Mistral (V75-5) is in against some very good horses and I'm happy if he gets a check".