Sprintermästaren

Another year has gone and when Halmstad opened up for the Swedish Hambletonian again (July 7), the sun was shining and the rain was gone. The largest Swedish sprinter race for 4-year-old horses is a given favorite and the 13 000 in the audience saw harness racing in world class.

Three Elimination Winners
Wishing Stone won the first elimination heat with Åke Svanstedt in the bike. The Fabrice Soulay-trained horse was magnificent and won the mile race at 1:54.2. Jorma Kontio and Timo Nurmos-trained Amuro Boko won the second heat from the lead at 1:53.2. The last elimination heat was won by Formula One and Erik Adielsson in the front. The horse is trained by Stig H Johansson and won easily at 1:57.0.


Italian Taste
These three and Orecchietti were also the favorites to the final. Jorma Kontio sent Amuro Boko to the front and opened the first 500 meters at 1:53.2. Åke Svanstedt tried to force Wishing Stone to the lead but Amuro Boko was never close to give up the front. When they were coming on the home stretch, Örjan Kihlström attacked with Orecchietti from a position as second pair on the outside and his horse delivered a strong speed. The Stefan Hultman-trained stallion added another $140 000 to his bank account and won at 1:53.3.


100 Happy Owners
Orecchietti is owned by Travkompaniet, a limited company, and has around 100 owners altogether. His breeder Margareta Wallenius-Kleberg has been a dominant in the Swedish breeding industry for several years’ and Orecchietti is a pure ‘Margareta product’. She bred the sire From Above and owned his sire Zoot Suit during his breeding career. She also owns the dam Canneloni, which is after another Wallenius stallion, Mack Lobell.


Stosprintern – Ludde’s Show
The day after (July 8) the filly division – Stosprintern – took place. The three elimination heats were contested ten days earlier and the favorite was Somekindacatch with Erik Adielsson. Örjan Kihlström sent the Stig H Johansson-trained Adena Boko to the front and opened at 1:53.1. She looked like a tiger up until Lutfi Kolgjini and his Viking Kronos filly Knowledge Face challenged 800 meters left to go. Adena Boko managed to keep the front, but Knowledge Face kept the pace high and was an outstanding winner at 1:57.1. Knowledge Face has belonged in the elite since she started as a 2-year-old and took her 5th victory in 25 entries. She bank another $49 000 and could sum up $158 000 on her account.