Racing Trader’s Tips: Swedish Trotting – Thursday 30th April

Our man Mark Underhill previews Thursday’s action

Åmål

Åmål hosts its first trotting fixture of the year so far, with an eight-race card that gets underway at 11.20.

Most of the top-flight drivers won’t be at Åmål, so for the most part, there’ll be a few names up against opponents with far less driving experience.

Magnus Jakobsson won last season’s drivers’ championship here with seven winners and a further eleven placed finishes from 48 drives. Across Sweden as a whole, he drove 97 winners last season at a strike rate of just under 16%. 

My Silver Lining, who he also trains, has provided Jakobsson with three previous wins. She should be one of his best chances on Thursday when she lines up in the 12:04.

She got locked in a pocket and couldn’t get going properly last time out at Örebro, so that unplaced effort doesn’t reflect her ability. She placed on her three previous completed starts, although she hasn’t got the best of the draw here. However, that didn’t prove to be much of a problem on her penultimate outing at Axevalla. Running in a less valuable contest than of late, she should challenge if she can find a path through.

Carl Johan Jepson drove only three winners during the short season here in 2019, but he had a much more impressive 220 winning drives across Sweden. He’s already notched up 46 winners this year.

The 42-year-old knows his way around the narrow 800m track very well – he was the champion driver at Åmål in 2017. 

Up New Moon could have a real chance for Jepson in the 13:27. The four-year-old filly has won two of her five career starts. Both of those wins came on the two occasions that she was driven by Jepson. She has placed on her two other completed starts – it was a decent effort to finish third at top track Solvalla last time out, with a trip 500m longer than she had tried previously. 

Magnus Jakobsson booked drives: On Stage Indika (11:20), My Silver Lining (12:04), Junilane (12:26), Gracious Class K.W (12:47), Crystal Kiss (13:27)

Carl Johan Jepson booked drives: Rafale D’Inverne (11:20), Svanskog Tösen (11:42), Joeson (12:04), Yankee Eagle (12:26), Amarillo Bay (12:47), Up New Moon (13:27), Bravo Qadir (13:46)

Boden

There’s also a ten-race card at Boden in Northern Sweden on Thursday evening, with the first race set to go off at 17:20.

Local trainer Petri Salmela is leading the Boden trainers’ table this year with eleven winners. Hanna Olofsson is the closest challenger with seven winners.

Salmela’s horses have earned over 650,000 Swedish Krona at Boden this season, with a strike rate of nearly 16%. He has nine horses on Thursday’s card and Mika Forss, who drove 173 winners in Sweden last season, averaging a 14% strike rate, takes the drive on five of them. His drives include Yankee Blue and B.W.L.Ruthless, who are both likely to go off as favourites.

Four-year-old gelding Yankee Blue (18:52) has won both of his starts since joining Salmela, with both coming at Boden, though Forss took the drive for the first one.

B.W.L.Ruthless (19:56) was beaten at Umåker on his two most recent starts, but was successful for Forss on his last outing here. With six of his eight career victories coming at Boden, a return will be in his favour.

Petri Salmela runners: Fokus Brick (17:42), Eurythmic (18:05), Yankee Blue & Gigolo Sisu (18:52), Pomeroll Am (19:36), B.W.L.Ruthless & Denver Brodde (19:56), Rhapsody Ås (20:15), Simon Angel (20:33) 

Mika Forss booked drives: Röyns Kristine (17:20), Fokus Brick (17:42), Oki Hörsta (18:05), Stonecapes Pro (18:30), Yankee Blue (18:52), Höstbo Elis (19:14), Pomeroll Am (19:36), B.W.L.Ruthless (19:56), Mr Golden Quick (20:15), Simon Angel (20:33)

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