V86® (jackpot): "We are looking forward to racing this horse"
Six wins in eight starts. Wittgenstein is off to a promising start.
The Tomas Pettersson stable and Jenni Åsberg now hope for another win for the promising 4-year-old.
East and west work together on this week's V86 Xpress card as it is shared between Solvalla and Åby.
The Bollnäs licensed trainer Tomas Pettersson is headed southbound towards Solvalla, with girlfriend Jenni Åsberg. The latter is also the trainer of 8 Wittgenstein (V86-6), a horse that so far has been a frequent visitor to the racetracks' winner's circles.
In his eight career starts, the chestnut gelding has won six times.
Wittgenstein is named after the influential Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein from the 20th century, but the horse does not seem to be especially complicated. His best feature has thus far, been his strength.
"He has won most of his starts so, of course, we have high hopes for him. His best feature so far is his strength, and he also has a great attitude. He showed it last time out and has done so before, too" says Tomas.
A strong and tough 4-year-old. You never considered the Derby eliminations?
"Not really, it was in the back of our heads, but we thought it came a bit too early in his career and we were afraid that it would do more harm than good for him".
What do his future plans look like?
"We have our own little plan for him, but we keep it to ourselves so far. But he has qualified for an STL final and that is one of the goals we have for him".
Likes the distance – the post position could work out well
Wittgenstein started his career with five consecutive wins.
After those first five starts, he finished sixth and then third, before returning to the winner's circle in his most recent starts at Dannero. Wittgenstein showcased his will to win when he, despite trotting first up in a Klass 2 leg, managed to get his nose first on the finish line.
"He raced well at Dannero. It was a strong effort; he is pretty good. He is used to doing a lot of work when he races, but he won impressively".
Last time out, it was a long distance race. Just as it is this week at Solvalla. But this time he starts from post 8, in the second tier in volt start.
"Yes, he drew a closed post position this time in volt start, but that could work out well for him. He has gotten a few tough trips, so starting a bit slower behind horses this time could be good for him. We have to depend on what the others do, though. He needs some racing luck".
But he has to have a good chance to win again?
"Yes, of course we hope so. At the same time, he keeps moving up in class and you want to stay humble. But he feels good in training and all that, and we are really looking forward to racing this horse" says Tomas Pettersson, who also tells us there are no changes on the horse for this start.