Having taken both Goodtimes and Northern Bailey to Europe to compete in the Elitlopp in the past, trainer John Bax knows a little something about what the trek across the pond entails
. The resident of Peterborough, Ontario has spoken with Trot Insider in regard to whether or not he will be taking Define The World over to contest the world-class trotting event.
The five-year-old gelded son of Duke Of York has put some big miles together over the course of his 58-start career -- none of which, arguably, have been bigger than some of the performances he has provided the fans of Woodbine Racetrack over the past six months.
Since early November, Define The World has recorded some big miles in the Toronto-area track's Open class (he won in 1:54, 1:53.2 and 1:52 last fall). In adverse conditions during the Open two weeks ago, Define The World trotted to victory in 1:55.3. He took the Open yet again this past Monday, as he posted an open-length wire-to-wire victory in 1:52.2.
"Arnie Heltberg from Norway called and expressed an interest in us bringing him over," Bax, 55, explained. "There is nothing in writing at this point. We are waiting on an invite from Klaus Koch.
"Realistically, it's a long trip over there. For us to go and take him over we would need to have two races for him. (Define The World's owner) Al Libfeld has essentially conveyed the same thing to me. I think we would have to be able to race in Oslo [for the Oslo Grand Prix] and Solvalla if we are going to do it."
Many say the trotting side of the standardbred breed age like a fine wine. Define The World showed over the course of his two and three-year-old seasons that he had the speed and talent to win. The clocks didn't lie, but putting up speedy, victorious efforts against some of the best older trotters on the continent is a whole different ball of wax. Nevertheless, Define The World appears to be up to the task.
"He was the best Ontario-bred horse in his three-year-old year, but it took him most of his four-year-old year to be able to get up to the level of the aged horses and show what he was made of. I wasn't surprised that he did it, though (step up against the older horses)."
When asked whether he had foreseen the possibility of going over to contest the 2010 Elitlopp with Define The World, Bax told Trot Insider that it was a possibility that popped into his mind at one point. "I had thought about it last fall," Bax said. "He won in [1:] 52 last fall at Woodbine and after that the idea of it (going overseas to the Elitlopp) had popped into my head."
Define The World may have surprised fans with his 1:52.2 win in Monday's Open at Woodbine, but Bax was not taken aback. "It was his third start in a row, and he's a bit of a slow starter," the conditioner explained. "I really can't train him hard enough on the home track. The weather was good and he ended up putting in a good mile."
The Open class on the Woodbine Entertainment Group circuit has seen a good group of hard-knocking older trotters over the past few months, many of which have surely helped Define The World hone his game.
"There are four or five in that class that can step up and go some good miles if everything goes their way, and we've seen that happen quite a bit so far this year," said Bax. "By and large that is a pretty classy group of trotters that have been racing the Opens over the past few months. You always have a couple of horses that are on the cusp and go up and down, but it's a pretty good group that is going there."
While various harness racing websites are reporting that Define The World could compete and/or has been invited to three of the top European stakes events - The Copenhagen Cup, the Oslo Grand Prix and the Elitlopp, owner Al Libfeld told Trot Insider that as of Tuesday afternoon he had not received any official invitations.
"There's nothing official yet but we will accept the invite if we get it," said Libfeld, "I've never owned a horse that has raced over there, and it's especially sweet for me being that he's a homebred."
Libfeld was the breeder of not just Define The World, but his sire Duke Of York and his dam Venice Holiday.
"It will be an honour and a thrill to go race, and great to have someone like John who's been there before. It's very exciting."