After tasting success during a two-year stint in the U.S. a little more than a decade ago, Jim Oscarsson is back stateside and hoping to harness Grand Circuit winners again.
Oscarsson and his wife, Susanne, returned to the U.S. from Sweden last year. Oscarsson is training four horses at the moment, all two-year-old trotters that will be in action this week in Bluegrass Stakes divisions at Lexington’s Red Mile.
During his previous stint in the U.S., Oscarsson’s top trotters included 2012 Peter Haughton Memorial champion Aperfectyankee and, in 2013, Grand Circuit stakes winning two-year-old Nuncio (who at age three won the Kentucky Futurity and Yonkers Trot for trainer Jimmy Takter).
“I always liked it in the States,” said Oscarsson. “There are a lot of nice horses, and races too. The last time I was here, I had horses like Aperfectyankee and Nuncio, and it’s easy to want to come back because you want to do the same. You want to have horses like that again. Once you get a taste, you want to be here.”
During his two seasons in the U.S., Oscarsson’s stable won 26 of 155 races and earned $1.13 million. But with two teenaged children at the time anxious to return home, the Oscarssons headed back to Sweden in late 2013.
In the ensuing years, Oscarsson raced a stable of 30 to 40 horses in Sweden. He returned once to the U.S., in 2016, to send out Explosive De Vie, driven by his son Kevin, in the MGM Yonkers International Trot. Explosive De Vie finished fifth from the second tier’s post 10.
“That was a lot of fun,” said Oscarsson. “To see my son drive in the race was great.”
Oscarsson turned over the stable to Kevin last year so he could return to the U.S. with Susanne. After buying several yearlings at last fall’s sales, Oscarsson went to work preparing the horses for this season while stabled in Florida.
On Thursday, Oscarsson will have three freshman male trotters in action in Bluegrass Stakes divisions — Themoneyisback S, Portillo and Durante Hanover. On Friday, freshman female trotter Sound Judgement will get her Bluegrass opportunity.
Oscarsson Racing Stable owns Themoneyisback S (Aperfectyankee-Dontlooseallmoney) and Portillo (Tactical Landing-Rarely Wrong) and co-owns Durante Hanover (Walner-Dancing For Money) with John Arkland and Helen Johanna Blomberg. Sound Judgement (Muscle Hill-Pin Kronos It) is owned by Blomberg Stable.
Each of the four horses has a win to their credit but will be stepping up in class in the Bluegrass divisions. Oscarsson plans to use the Bluegrass and next week’s International Stallion Stakes to gauge his next moves with the group.
“I think they’re good,” said Oscarsson. “We took it easy with them at first, did some fairs and easier races. We’re going to see how they manage now against the better competition these two weeks. After this, we’ll go up to New Jersey and we’ll see what races they’re going to be in.
“I’m happy with them. They train good and behave good and everything is perfect. It’s going to be fun to see how they race these two weeks. It’s tough when you just have four horses. They have to produce a lot, just the four of them. But they’re racing and have won races. It’s going to be exciting to see.”
Oscarsson hopes to eventually have a stable of 10 to 15 horses. He will be looking to add several to the mix when he attends next week’s Lexington Selected Yearling Sale at the Fasig-Tipton Sales Pavilion.
“We’ve been out to the farms and I’m looking forward to going to the sale and see if we can catch some yearlings,” said Oscarsson. “Then we’ll see if the owners want to buy some. I hope so. I cross my fingers that they do.”
Thursday’s Red Mile card includes five Bluegrass divisions for two-year-old male trotters and four Bluegrass splits for two-year-old female pacers. The 12-race program opens the 2024 Grand Circuit meet at the Red Mile. Racing begins at 1 p.m. (EDT).
(USTA; Photo of Jim Oscarsson with 2012 Peter Haughton champion Aperfectyankee)