Lucky Jim on Monday took the first steps on a long journey to the Elitlopp in Sweden on May 30 when he stepped on a horse truck at his home base at Gaitway Farm in New Jersey at 12:30 p.m.
“He’ll leave JFK Airport tonight at about 9:30,” said Andy Miller, who drives Lucky Jim for the trainer, his wife, Julie Miller. “Right now, the airport in Amsterdam is closed because of volcanic ash, but it should be open by tonight. Then it’s a 14-hour truck ride to Sweden. He’ll stop at the airport for a rest and then about two-thirds of the way to Sweden, he’ll stop at a farm for a rest. He’ll be stabled at a farm about 20 minutes from the track (at Solvalla) and have his own paddock.”
After a last-minute brush and the application of shipping wraps by his regular caretaker, Gustavo Quebada, Lucky Jim was turned over to the care of Jenny Melander, a native of Sweden and assistant trainer for the Erv Miller Stable. She will care for the horse on the trip. Erv Miller is the brother of Andy Miller. Lucky Jim will ship with three other Standardbreds, all of his equipment, plus many five-gallon jugs of water. The Millers will join their charge in Sweden in a week, on May 24.
“There are a lot of concerns with (the trip), but he’s a pro and he’s a racehorse; I think he’ll adapt,” Andy Miller said. “That’s why he had the three weeks off. We wanted to take it easy with him and race these two races and hopefully be real sharp to go over there. We’ll train him a little bit over there and see how it goes.”
Lucky Jim won the Su Mac Lad Series final on April 16 at the Meadowlands, and then took off three weeks before competing in the Arthur J. Cutler Memorial prep race and final. He won the prep and finished second to Arch Madness in the final.
“He was OK,” Miller said about the Cutler final. “He stalled a little bit in the last turn, which he does sometimes. Coming off the turn, I saw I wasn’t going to catch (Arch Madness) so we just kind of raced our race. Arch Madness was on his game and got to the front and kind of opened up turning for home. He was awfully sharp.
“I think Jim needed this start, too. He raced good (in the prep), but he didn’t go a big mile. This will help him, too. I think he’ll bounce back good off of this.”
Lucky Jim has won four of six races and $191,000 this year. The five-year-old gelding has won 23 of 44 career races and earned $1.3 million for owners David Prushnok, John Prushnok and Bill Gregg. Last season, he won 17 of 18 races and was voted the best older male trotter by the U.S. Harness Writers Association.
This story courtesy of Harness Racing Communications, a division of the U.S.
Trotting Association. For more information, visit www.ustrotting.com.