Traditionally, early speed is not coveted in Swedish trotting. Horsemen there have been schooled to bring their pupils along slowly, allowing them to mature both physically and mentally. The goal is to have a horse who can race year after year and that often precludes putting too much pressure on the babies.
Besides, there were no real monetary incentives for honing a baby trotter. Purse money for two-year-olds wouldn’t pay for one trip through the smorgasbord line.
One race that’s been the exception is the Uppfodningsloppet or Breeders Race, always contested late in the year for precocious two-year-olds. The 2008 renewal was held recently at the Jagersro track in Malmo, just across the water from Copenhagen, Demark.
It was taken by Zimba Boko, a daughter of Yankee Glide from the good Probe mare Simb Capi. She’s owned in Finland and was driven by Finnish ace Jorma Kontio. Her proud breeder was Boko Stables in Sweden, operated by Annika and John Bootsman.
The winner’s mother Simb Capi was a superior mare on the track, winning 29 of her 63 races. Zimba Boko is her second foal, but she has a yearling sister and a weanling brother, both by Yankee Glide.
Zimba Boko’s second dam is Cap And Tassel by Arnie Almahurst and third dam Graduation Day by Dartmouth. It’s old American breeding.
Finishing second in the big two-year-old test was Digital Chit Chat, a chestnut daughter of Super Photo Kosmos (SJs Photo) and Crema Effe.
The mare Crema Effe is by the very successful sire Toss Out (Supergill) and from Eva F. Hanover, a Prakas mare from the family of Bonefish.
Third in the race was the colt Zidane Boshoeve, a colt by the great German sire Diamond Way, a grandson of Super Bowl. This colt races for Dutch connections---his breeder-owner, trainer, and driver are all from Holland.
Other starters in the Uppfodningsloppet were sired by such familiar names as Conway Hall, Lindy Lane, Dream Vacation, Victor Victor, and Super Arnie.
Viking Kronos, the sensational of American Winner stallion standing in Sweden, had two colts in the race and his son Turbo Sund had one son, but they fared poorly, finishing 8-10-11 in the 11-horse field.
Revenue, the Perretti Farms stallion whose first American crop raced in 2008, won this race in 1998. Revenue’s trainer-driver Lutfi Kolgjini has been very successful in the Uppfodingsloppet, capturing it four times since 1998.
There is a slightly greater emphasis on racing two-year-old now in Sweden and not everyone thinks it’s a wise move. One horseman told me he fears that horses pushed too hard too soon will fall by the wayside.
He worries that Swedish trotting will become more like the sport in North America where the stars shine brightly on the track, then go to stud. That deprives the sport of its heroes, of course, and the best Swedish trotters have traditionally been horses that built a large public following over many years at the races.
Zimba Boko is a name to remember for the future in European trotting. Will she develop her talents further and become a true star or will she prove to be morning glory that blooms early and withers?
Dean Hoffman, one of North America's most prolific harness racing journalists and member of the U.S. Harness Racing Hall of Fame, offers SC website readers his weekly look at international standardbred racing through his eyes.
You don't mention how fast
You don't mention how fast the race went anywhere in your article. That to me is a significant part of the puzzle also. Horse that raced too often at 2 and going the huge miles they do in North America are significantly disadvantaged to go on as older horses than ones who have only had comparatively slow miles at 2.