The oddsmakers called it right: they said that the Swedish Derby would come down to a race between favoured Sahara Dynamite and rival Wellino Boko, two sons of Express Ride.
And oh what a race it was!
Sahara Dynamite withstood the pressure from Wellino Boko to squeeze out a victory and take the title for his Finnish driver Jorma Kontio. Right at his throat latch after a race of 2,640 meters was Wellino Boko, driven by the young Swedish ace Erik Adielsson.
Sahara Dynamite is now unbeaten in five starts this season and the four-year-old is now 15-for-19 in his career. He was bred in Finland and he's out of a mare by Graduate Student, a Speedy Scot stallion whose dam is a half-sister to the immortal Impish. The female line of the Derby champ's pedigree is a Heinz 57 mix of American, French, Finnish, and Swedish blood.
The winner's cheque in the Swedish Derby is worth $253,372.
Wellino Boko is also by Express Ride out of a mare by the French stallion Minou du Donjon. His entire female side is French.
Express Ride is a son of Super Bowl who won the Peter Haughton Memorial and Breeders Crown as a two-year-old in 1985 for trainer-driver George Sholty. He had pure speed, but he certainly didn't have a pure gait. He could trot fast, but it wasn't pretty.
He didn't come back strong as a sophomore, but when Express Ride was a four-year-old he trotted a race mile in 1:53 after all his shoes were pulled, as I recall.
Express Ride went to Finland to begin stud duties, but enjoyed so much success that soon he was on his way to a larger stage in Sweden and stood at Menhammer Stuteri, the nation's premier breeding operation.
In addition to Sahara Dynamite, Express Ride has sired such European standouts as Jocose, Jaded, Express Yankee, Hot Chili Pepper, Virgill Boko, Hovercraft, and Inspiration Ride.
This is a triumph for the Super Bowl male line, which is already popular in Sweden through his son Super Arnie.
It should be mentioned that the filly Lie Detector finished third against male competition in the Swedish Derby. She's a daughter of Varenne (who now stands at Menhammer, too) and she's out of the Super Bowl mare Face Lifted.
In Norway, next door to Sweden, the Derby (which is always for four-year-olds in Europe) went to Lucky Buck, trotter with Canadian connections. His sire Buckaroo K is by Wesgate Crown and Lucky Buck is out of a mare by Balanced Image. The second dam is Fishing Hole by Bonefish.
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.