V86®: Boreas is a breath of fresh air for Widegren
Nowadays, he has an amateur trainer's license and trains only four horses.
But Dan Widegren enjoys his life, especially concerning the 3-year-old Boreas he has in his stable.
"It will be exciting to follow him going forward" says the Halmstad trainer.
Mention the Sprint Champion Beijing Boy, the iron horse Spring Erom, Leonardo Bob, Tunk Nafets, and Royal Frostline and you immediately think of Dan Widegren. The successful trainer from Halmstad has now taken a step back. He now only trains four horses and as of this winter, he has an amateur trainer's license.
"Yes, as of February 15 when I turned 60. That was my plan all along, to cut down and only train four horses. I train these four horses for long-time owners of mine" says Dan.
But the future is secured.
Widegren works closely together with Gustav Johansson. The talented 20-year-old driver has made a name for himself on the country's racetracks and he is currently in 15th place among all Swedish drivers.
"Gustav works in the same stable and the plan is that he will take over, he only has the last course of classes left in his education to become a professional trainer. It's very nice and inspiring with the younger people in our sport. We will see how the setup turns out, but the plan is for Gustav to be the boss so that I can do other things and go on vacation whenever I want".
A 3-year-old who has taken huge steps
Something that Dan can put a lot of time into is the Fourth Dimension son 1 Boreas (V86-5).
The 3-year-old has only made five career starts so far, but has shown a lot of potential for the future.
"It feels like he's a bit above average, at least. It will be exciting to follow him going forward".
V86® Xpress is shared between Solvalla and Jägersro this Wednesday.
At the Malmö racetrack, there are four Breeders Crown legs and in one of them we find Boreas. This will be his biggest challenge so far in his young career. Last time out, at Solvalla, he closed well after having gotten a free path late. It looked like he was far from tired as he sprinted across the finish line.
"I don't know how much was left in him, but he hesitated a bit when Johan Untersteiner's horse (Eminent Kronos editors note) made a break in front of him and was taken to the inside, but then he got going and crossed the finish line at full speed, so he had some left. I think he has improved with that race and he takes huge steps all the time and at the level he races now he also needs to improve with each start. He trained last Friday and I was pleased with him".
His last start was also his first time barefoot and in the American sulky?
"I don't know how much the sulky did for him but I have wanted to race him barefoot all along; he has that type of gait. He becomes much more efficient that way and it's also easier on the horse".
Drew better than his toughest opponent
The question is: Can Boreas with his lack of experience threaten his more qualified opponents?
Among the opponents this time we find Tomas Malmqvist's 3-year-old star trotter Fiftyfour, who won Svensk Uppfödningslöpning last year and comes off a win in the E3 final. He drew post position twelve, while Boreas starts from post position one. A perfect spot?
"Well, two or three would have been even better, but I think he can leave. It's always a bit risky when the car goes so slow before it takes off, but I am not going to complain".
So, maybe Boreas could be a bit of a dark horse in this race?
"Yes, the best horses on paper drew badly so they could run into traffic trouble. Of course, a horse like Fiftyfour is always hard to beat, but we have hopes of finishing top four at least, so we make it through to the semifinals, that's the goal".
Breeders Crown semifinals then, hopefully. Are you going to try your luck in the Kriterium too?
"It sits well in the calendar, so we have pretty much decided to try him there, as I said he is an above average horse, so it's worth a shot" says Dan Widegren.