Sjoberg Finds Another White Horse
Owner Tristan Sjoberg will be watching Dupree in Saturday’s $600,000 Breeders Crown for two-year-old male trotters at Woodbine Racetrack, but regardless of the horse’s performance he is already feeling out of this world.
Sjoberg, who is among the owners of rare white pacing colt White Bliss, said this week via email that he has bought another rare white horse – this one a filly trotter born on April 4, 2014 in Italy. The filly, bred by Sergio Carfagna in Assisi, is named Via Lattea, which translates to ‘Milky Way.’
Via Lattea is a daughter of stallion Gruccione Jet out of the mare Melodiass. Both parents are described as dark bay. Gruccione Jet’s sire is two-time Breeders Crown winner Pine Chip and his dam is the Valley Victory mare Petite Victory, who made $210,647 in the U.S. at ages two and three.
White Bliss, owned by Sjoberg and his brother Michael Knutsson under the Knutsson Trotting Inc. banner, is a son of the bay coloured stallion Art Major and bay mare Coochie Mama. He was the first white Standardbred born of bay parents since 1998. He sold for $240,000 at the 2013 Standardbred Horse Sale.
Via Lattea will be trained in Sweden, initially by Andre Eklundh before moving to Stig H. Johansson next summer.
“She is the only white trotter I know of,” Sjoberg said. “As you know, there is very little two-year-old racing in Sweden, so we are targeting a three-year-old debut. She will compete in Europe and after her racing career is over I will breed her to White Bliss.”
The three-year-old White Bliss has won one of 14 races in his career. He broke his maiden on July 25 at Vernon Downs and had picked up two more top-three finishes in his next four starts, but has been sidelined by a minor ligament issue. Sjoberg hopes the pacer will return to action by April.
“It’s a shame because he was just starting to race really well on the New York circuit,” Sjoberg said. “The plan is to keep him racing as a four-year-old and we also plan to offer his stud services to any interested parties. He will combine stud and racing duties if there is a demand. We will also freeze some semen and ship to Europe for breeding to some of our trotting mares there and possibly any interested third parties.”
As for Sjoberg’s Breeders Crown hopeful, Dupree is 20-1 on the morning line. He enters the race off a seventh-place finish in the sole elimination race for the two-year-old male trotters, but had posted stakes wins in his previous two starts at the Red Mile. He will start from Post 8 with Svanstedt driving.
“He scoped bad after the elimination, so we are expecting a better effort in the final,” Sjoberg said.
For the first time in three years, Woodbine Racetrack will again host the Breeders Crown, harness racing’s most spectacular evening, when 12 championship finals, offering more than $6 million in purse money. It’s the richest day of horse racing in Canada as North America’s best two-year-olds, three-year-olds and older pacers and trotters will be in the spotlight seeking to claim divisional and possibly Harness Horse of the Year honours. TSN2 will air a special one hour telecast across Canada from 9:00 – 10:00 p.m. and will televise two of the 12 Crown finals live, the $500,000 Three-Year-Old Colt Trot at 9:19 p.m. and the $531,250 Three-Year-Old Colt Pace at 9:44 p.m. ET.
Among the marketing activities on Breeders Crown night are WEG’s First Bet On Us $2 voucher and a free toque (while supplies last), available on the 3rd Floor; $10,000 in Instant Cash Giveaways (wager through a self-serve wagering terminal at Woodbine for 100 chances to win $100) and a mandatory Jackpot Hi 5 payout on Race 13 (the carryover pool is currently at $557,000) scheduled for 11:27 p.m.
In addition, there will be two $100,000 Guaranteed Pick 4’s, Early (Races 4-7) and Late (Races 8-11).
To view the entries for the Breeders Crown card, and for past performances for the Breeders Crown entrants courtesy TrackIT, click one of the following links:
2015 Breeders Crown Finals:
(Hambletonian Society)
Beautiful Filly
Beautiful Filly