“This is four weeks [of racing] in a row and he’s never done that before. It’s very different for him. But I’m not worried because he felt so good in the last race.”
Ake Svanstedt, who was Sweden’s Trainer of the Year five times and Driver of the Year on three occasions, will have nine horses racing on Saturday’s Hambletonian Day card at The Meadowlands.
“Absolutely, I’m looking forward to it,” he said.
He sends out Centurion ATM and Amicus in the $355,500 Peter Haughton Memorial plus Doncango in the $1 million Hambletonian for three-year-old trotters, Heavens Door in the $500,000 Hambletonian Oaks for three-year-old female trotters, Sebastian K and Your So Vain in the $300,650 John Cashman Jr. Memorial for older trotters, Home Front and DDs Hitman in $50,000 divisions of the Townsend Ackerman for three-year-old trotters, and Blixtra in the $100,000 Thomas D’Altrui SBOA Miss New Jersey for three-year-old female pacers.
Centurion ATM is the type of horse that seems ready to step up when it’s time to race.
The two-year-old trotter didn’t do much to impress trainer Ake Svanstedt before beginning his rookie campaign, but Svanstedt has been happy with the colt since he started going behind the gate.
Last week, Centurion ATM won the single elimination for the Haughton by 3-1/2 lengths over Uncle Lasse in 1:54.2. It was Centurion ATM’s first victory after second-place finishes in his first two races.
“He’s a racehorse,” Svanstedt said. “He trained from the beginning and he was a normal horse until he qualified. Then he was something special. Before the qualifier, he did the job and was a nice and friendly horse, but he was nothing special. He loves to race.”
Centurion ATM will start the Haughton Memorial from post one, with Svanstedt handling the driving, as usual. The colt is 3-1 on the morning line, which makes him the third choice behind New Jersey Sire Stakes champion Guess Whos Back (2-1) and NJSS runner-up Canepa Hanover (5-2), who received byes to the final.
The race is part of a stakes-filled Hambletonian Day card at the Big M. Among the other highlights are the $300,650 John Cashman Jr. Memorial for older trotters, $500,000 Hambletonian Oaks for three-year-old female trotters, and the $1 million Hambletonian for three-year-old trotters.
Coverage of the card will air throughout the afternoon on TVG and from 4:00 - 5:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
Centurion ATM is a son of SJs Caviar out of the mare ENS Tag Session. He was purchased for $100,000 at the 2013 Standardbred Horse Sale and is a full brother to stakes-winner Triumphant Caviar. He is owned by Knutsson Trotting and Courant AB.
“I hope he can do a good race,” Svanstedt said. “If everything is normal, he can do a good race. I think he has potential. We’ll see.”
Sebastian K, the fastest trotter in harness racing history thanks to his 1:49 mile at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs in June, is the 3-5 favourite in the Cashman Memorial. He has won six of seven races this year and is coming off a 3-1/4 length triumph over Mister Herbie in 1:51 in his Cashman elimination.
“Everything was good in the last race,” Svanstedt said. “And he loves the Meadowlands and the big track. He feels very good at the Meadowlands. He is a different horse at the Meadowlands.”
Sebastian K’s only loss came by a nose to Intimidate in the Maple Leaf Trot on a sloppy track at Mohawk.
“He didn’t win in Canada, I think he left too fast and the track was very heavy,” Svanstedt said. “We opened in :26.4 in the first quarter and that’s too fast on that heavy a track, so he would be tired. He was tired, but he lost by just a nose, so he was good. He fought.”
Svanstedt did not plan to train Sebastian K during the week.
“He is just going to go in the paddock every day for the whole day,” Svanstedt said. “This is four weeks [of racing] in a row and he’s never done that before. It’s very different for him. But I’m not worried because he felt so good in the last race.”
Heavens Door is the 9-2 third choice in the Hambletonian Oaks, behind world champion Designed To Be (2-1) and Delvin Miller Memorial winner Shake It Cerry (5-2). Heavens Door has won two of five races this year, including the New Jersey Sire Stakes championship for three-year-old filly trotters, and finished second in the Miller.
“There are tough horses in there, but I have a good horse too,” Svanstedt said. “She has everything. She pulls a little, but she is getting better with that. Some races she pulls a lot and I cannot drive slowly. The one time [in a race in May] she galloped at the start because she is pulling so much. But she is getting better.”
Doncango, a 20-1 longshot in the Hambletonian, has only raced once this year – winning in 1:54 – after battling leg woes throughout the winter.
“It’s tough for him,” Svanstedt said. “We had a lot of problems with him at the beginning. But he trained tough and feels good. He’s trained three months without problems and feels sound.
“If he can earn money, we’ll be really happy.”
To view entries and program pages for Saturday's star-studded card of harness racing at The Meadowlands, click the following link: Saturday Entries - Meadowlands - Hambletonian Day Program Pages.
This story courtesy of Harness Racing Communications, a division of the U.S. Trotting Association. For more information, visit www.ustrotting.com.