V86®: Juel puts out a warning for his new acquisition
After a slow summer, Jeppe Juel reloads.
On Wednesday, he is making the trip from Denmark to Mantorp and V86®.
"I have a good feeling about Hilton. He is a horse of the right caliber" says the Danish trainer.
Jeppe Juel is among the very best in Denmark, both as a trainer and a driver. This year, things have not gone as smoothly as they usually do and the summer did not at all turn out the way he had hoped.
"We have had a lot of problems with sickness and it's been hard to shake it off. Thankfully we are on the right path now. The horses feel better and they have gotten that kick to their stride back and that feels very good" says Jeppe Juel.
He now hopes to harvest the fruits this fall season and a lot of that is up to the star of the stable, Garfield.
"He's a fantastic horse and the best I have ever trained and so far he has been dominating his crop here in Denmark. He won the Kriterium for fun as a three-year-old and he has continued to win all the bigger races for four-year-olds here and now we are going for the Derby. I have big hopes for him".
"Garfield is a smart horse and he only does what he has to and won't waste any energy on anything else. He has the ability and the attitude to race in the bigger races and I don't mean just in Denmark - in all of Europe. For instance, I think that Garfield is at least as good as Extreme. Now we are aiming at the Derby and then we will see after that. Hopefully he can race in the Grand Prix de l'UET and maybe also in the Criterium Continental".
"Could be the dark horse of the field"
On Wednesday, Jeppe Juel makes the trip to Mantorp who hosts this summer's last V86 card without Xpress.
"I think Hilton is my best chance, but I want to put out a warning for Muscle Lane who makes his first start for me and he trains well".
We will take them in the order they appear in the program and in V86-6, the Juel stable has two starters.
"1 King Slayer (V86-6) is a horse I have had a lot of hopes for, but he has been a disappointment. I hope he is on the right path now. Peter Ingves drove him in his last start too, and he thought he felt very good then. King Slayer trains well and drew a very good post position. He can leave well and should get a good trip and I hope he can finish top three".
"11 Muscle Lane (V86-6) makes his first start for me here. He was earlier trained by Steen Juul where he did very well and then he was sent to France, where he injured himself seriously. I have had him for a while now and he's a very nice horse with lots of ability. He trains well and had we had a good post position, such as post one, I would have thought he would have a great chance to win. Now we are left out to what the others do and we need some racing luck. Muscle Lane could be the dark horse of the field because he is good for his class".
"1 Hilton (V86-7) is a really nice three-year-old. He raced very well in his last start from a bad post position at Solvalla, in a tough race. After that he has had some problems with his blood count. He now trains well again and I really like this horse. Hilton can leave well and I will try to leave as fast as he can and if he holds up the lead, I will race him there. He is in against good horses but mine is good too and the post position is perfect and I hope we will end up battling for the win. I have a good feeling about him" says Jeppe Juel.