V86® (jackpot): Haapakangas is red hot – brings a duo in good form
Veikko Haapakangas experienced the moment of his life on a racetrack when he won two STL finals at the Elitlopp weekend.
The Åby trainer has reloaded and he brings a duo in good form to V86® at Åmål.
"Gibraltar drops down in class quite a bit and I think he is the best horse in the race. Jetborne is extremely quick out of the gate and if he gets to the lead, he will be the horse to beat," says Veikko Haapakangas.
The Finnish native is the private trainer for Stall Denco and the 24-year-old experienced his biggest success so far in his career during the Elitlopp Saturday. He took a nice training double in the STL finals with Emerald Island and Crown Wise As, both well-driven by Magnus A Djuse.
Veikko Haapakangas was ecstatic and wanted to take everyone at Solvalla in his arms.
"It was huge and the biggest thing I've ever experienced, awesome!," says Veikko more than a week after the success, as he is back in the everyday grind again.
"I'm slowly starting to realize what happened. It's so much fun that I can't describe it with words. Now we will work even harder and to start with, we have an exciting Wednesday ahead of us".
"In very good form – will be dangerous"
What Haapakangas refers to is V86® at Åmål and its 800-meter track. It also kicks off the V86 summer tour with its new post time 19:20. The card is spiced up by a jackpot with SEK 15 million in the pool for all eight winners picked. His first starter is Gibraltar in the sixth leg and the horse has obtained toughness in V75, where he has finished second twice lately. Last time out, he never got out in the final at Solvalla".
"3 Gibraltar (V86-6) trotted 1:12.1 in his last start and didn't quite get a free path at the end. He didn't find a spot initially, since he's not that fast out of the gate. The start was bad but he raced great after that and he's in excellent form. Luckily, he still fits the same class and I think he's better than the horses he races against this time. This is our chance to win and to make it to the final," says Veikko Haapakangas.
"He lowered his lifetime best by a couple of seconds and he keeps raising the bar. He drew a great post position and the distance is an advantage. I asked the driver Mika Forss what he thought about Åmål's track and he thought it would fit him. My horse is hot this time and he has raced well in every start. When he made a break two starts ago, he was interfered with. This is a big class drop for him and he will be dangerous. Barefoot all around and a regular sulky again, no changes".
"Two seconds better than when he last won at Åmål"
In the last leg, Haapakangas sends out Jetborne, who finished third in his last start and fifth, two starts ago when he raced against horses like Dundee As, A Fair Day, and Bedazzled Sox in the Lyon Grand Prix. He now starts from post position seven over the short distance.
"7 Jetborne (V86-8) has raced great in his last three starts. He is been fabulous and last time out he trotted 1:10.7 with a wide turn. He is really starting to get going now and I am very happy with him. He drew a tricky post position here and the driver has to leave with him and try to get a good spot right away. He is extremely fast out of the gate and a scratch or two would give him a good chance to get to the lead".
"He won at Åmål not too long ago and he likes that track. If he gets to the lead, he will be the horse to beat and I think he is two seconds better now than when he last won there. I have aimed at this race for quite some time and he will race barefoot all around again. I will think about which type of sulky he will race in, if he will race in the American sulky as he has done lately, or in a regular sulky as he did when he last won at Åmål. It's a slightly different sulky, it really is like an American sulky but it's classified as a regular style sulky," says Veikko Haapakangas.