V86® (jackpot): Will the luck turn for Aramis?
A Sprint Championship finalist this past summer.
One win in five starts after that.
The talented Aramis Face drew a bad post again in a sprint race at his home track this Wednesday.
"He has been in good form for a while now, but has had a lot of bad luck" says trainer Lars I Nilsson.
Four-year-old Aramis Face is a good horse for the class as he is in this Wednesday when Jägersro co-hosts V86®.
From post position eight behind the gate in V86-5, a sprint race, it doesn't look easy though.
Last time out, the Lars I Nilsson trained horse started from post twelve in a Class I leg in STL and closed well to finish fifth.
The trainer sighs.
"There is nothing wrong with his form, but everything that could go wrong has gone wrong. When he just finished fifth last time out, he didn't have enough points to get in when there was V75® here at home two weeks ago which was our plan A" the Jägersro trainer says.
Instead, they had to go to plan B which means Aramis Face races in a V86 race at his home track this Wednesday. The race is open for horses who have earned from SEK 225,001 to SEK 415,000 lifetime. The gelding won his first two career starts and after 22 lifetime starts he has six wins. This past summer he made it to the Sprint Championship final in Halmstad, after finishing third behind Francesco Zet in his elimination. In the final, Aramis Face did not race well at all and made a break.
"He was a bit rough gaited that day and the chiropractor found some minor issues on him after that start. After adjusting those issues, he has been better gaited, but instead, we haven't had much luck. In an overnight race at Kalmar two starts ago, he had to go 1:07-speed the first 500 meters parked out and held on great to finish third. In the start before that, he was a very good second after having left hard there too, and back in August at Halmstad he was also very good when he won and set his record of 1:11.3" says Lars I Nilsson.
Is he still in the same form going into the Wednesday start?
"He has been in good form for a long time now and I think it's still good. Last time out, he trotted a strong last kilometer from way back in the field, even if he got a bit tired the last 100 meters. But it was a top effort again. He's a good horse and he is good for the class he is in now. It's unfortunate with the post position, but it is what it is with post eight".
Christoffer Eriksson drives for the first time. What will you tell him?
"No changes planned. He can leave fast and Christoffer has to try to leave and get a spot and we know we have a good horse. But of course, he can't be hung out three wide and get parked. He might still have a chance to win but...I haven't analyzed the race that well. We always have faith in this horse when he races. There are some good horses to beat this time, the German horse for instance (7 Lancaster)".
Any thoughts about Aramis Face's next season as a five-year-old?
"We have a couple of gears left in him for next year. After some tougher winter training, he should be able to race pretty frequently on V75. Maybe we have overmatched him a bit this year - but we have a good horse".
Footnote: V86 this week comes with a jackpot where a sole winner with all eight winners picked potentially can take home SEK 15 million.