More from Peter Kleinhans on Enough Talk

May 21st 2008

 6 comments
Good Wednesday afternoon. Here is another post from Peter Kleinhans direct from Sweden where he is enjoying the build up to the big Elitlopp race in Sweden this weekend.
 
From Peter: "Thanks to everyone for such encouraging words!  It makes me all the more hopeful that Enough Talk can carry the day for America when Sunday rolls around.  Today (Wednesday) was perhaps the pivotal day for Enough Talk as far as training goes, here in Sweden, and I hope it was a good one.  I'm still trying to evaluate it.  As a trainer, you're always second-guessing yourself about if you've done things correctly, and today was a doozie in that regard.

"Today started off interestingly for me in that the Solvalla TV station asked me to announce a race on their simulcast show from a smaller track- I can't remember the name of the track right now.  Since all the population knows English- it is mandatory in school here- I guess they didn't mind having a non-Swedish announcer for a change.  It went well, although it was challenging, in that the race- like most here- had twelve horses.  In the meantime, Jen Durden, Enough Talk's groom, struggled for over an hour to get our racebike out of the packing material!

"One thing that I don't really like about Swedish racing is that the horses are hard to identify because they don't have the color-coded saddlepads here that they have in the U.S..  Instead, they have these tiny clamp-on metal numbers that go on the outside of the racebike- and they're all the same color for each race!  So the fourth race, which I was calling, had all green numbers.  I personally think that this is a big disadvantage to the fan (or announcer)- look at any U.S. track and the two horse always has a blue saddlepad, the six a yellow one, etc..  (I wish that harness racing and thoroughbred racing could agree on a color scheme, though; when you're watching a simulcast harness race and you get one color scheme in your head and then switch to a thoroughbred race and have to change it all around, it can be annoying... but I digress.)  In any case, in Sweden it can be very tough to know what's going on without knowing every driver's colors.
 
"One thing I do prefer, though, is the different distance races.  There are many races at 2100 metres (1 5/16 miles) and more, and they seem to be four and five-wide off the last turn in almost every race.  It's exciting racing.

 "But anyway, back to Enough Talk... he was scheduled to go two trips today, the first at a mile and a half in 3:30 or so (1/2 mile in 1:12, 1/2 mile in 1:12, and the final 1/2 in 1:06), and return an hour later for a mile in around 2:02.  
 
"So much for the best-laid plans, however.  His mile-and-a-half  was very tricky for me to gauge, with poles laid out every 1/16 of a mile or so on this 5/8 mile track.  It's two full laps around, plus another quarter mile, and I'm always concerned about Talk getting too hot on the track.  So when he started out super-relaxed, I let him just coast around, and he ended up going much slower than I was planning, 3:45 for the 1 1/2 miles.  
 
"Like most trainers, though, I don't get overly concerned about the speed of a first trip.  It's really just a loosener for the fast trip, and helps to build stamina.  So for the second trip, we hooked up the racebike and prepared for the 2:02 mile.  It's hard to know how fast to go in a situation like this, because it will be 17 days between Enough Talk's last race at Chester and the Sunday Elitlopp, and aside from jogging, flying on the plane, and riding in the truck, he had trained just one time- a slow mile-and-a-half at The Meadowlands, before today.
 
"So, of course you want to get a decent speed mile into the horse; at the same time you wonder if the shipping was stressful enough and you don't want to tap too much into him.  I decided on 2:02 because it's a fast mile but not insane, and he'll have four days- including a day totally relaxing tomorrow- to recover.
 
"Unfortunately, I again had difficulty with the poles. In addition, the turns here are unbelievably banked, so you feel like you're just walking around them.  Talk is a horse who just seems to be coasting even when he's going fast, and he seemed to be just half-heartedly trotting along at the start. I looked down at my watch at what I thought was the quarter pole and it said :33- or at least I thought it did. Fearing that I was going way too slowly, I tapped him and he picked it up a little but it didn't seem like he was going very fast.  He certainly wasn't taking the kind of hold he sometimes does. When I got to the half, I was shocked to see that he'd gone around 1:00 3/5, so clearly my first quarter reading was totally wrong.
 
"He got to 3/4 in 1:30, more than I wanted to go, but he seemed to be just crawling home, so I asked him to go on a little and he ended up going the mile in 1:59 3/5.  I don't know whether to be happy or sad at the clocking, or at how lazy he felt, but he's a professional, and I think he'll be fine.  One thing is for sure, he is 100% sound and straight.  There aren't many trotters who can make a 1:59 3/5 mile feel like a 2:25 mile, but he's one of them.

"He cooled out as if he'd been out for an early-morning jog, and he's eating like a champ.  So even if I didn't know what I was doing out there, I think Enough Talk did.  As every trainer knows, we don't make the horses, they make us.
  
"I'll write another update tomorrow, although hopefully no news about the horse will be good news.  Friends and family are arriving tomorrow, so it will be a sightseeing day.  I'll try to take some pictures of Stockholm, a beautiful city, and attach them to the next entry."

Comments

Dustin Ross said...

Good Luck Peter, Luc, and Enough Talk from all your friends at Tioga Downs.

posted at 4:27 PM on May 22nd 2008

Randy McCown said...

Everybody at Kleinhans Racing farms will be riding in the bike with you & Luc, at the top of the lane. we all wish we where there for support but will be here watching every second. Good luck Good Racing TALLY HO WOOT WOOT

posted at 5:53 PM on May 21st 2008

SJ Hawkwood Racing Stable said...

LYCKA TILL !
(good luck in Swedish)

posted at 5:34 PM on May 21st 2008

Pete said...

Hi Peter,

First of all, welcome to Scandinavia. I'm looking forward to see your horse on sunday. I'm driving all the way from Copenhagen, which is about 100 miles or so.

But the competion here is tough, now you have been warned ;-)
Your right about the saddlepaths and colours, its better in the US, but our metric system is better than your mile system. Anyway, wish u the best of luck.
Best regard

a danish trotfanatic

posted at 5:22 PM on May 21st 2008

Billy Haughton said...

Great stuff. I loved the total candor and insight into the spectrum of emotions he and the horse are dealing with in an unfamiliar environment. Sounds like everything is progressing nicely. Have a great day sightseeing with your family.
Best,
Billy Haughton

posted at 5:16 PM on May 21st 2008

Tom Charters said...

Check out the Elitloppet08 website: http://www.elitloppet.se/default-uk.asp and especially, "Do you yearn for the Elitloppet08?" spots. It uses a guy that shows up every year since I've been there with a drum and chants and beats the drum all day. The crowd gets into it. Sits right underneath the announcer. Drives the announcer crazy. The track decided to turn him into an asset this year.

Its gets you into the mood. Good luck to Peter and Luc.

From Andrew: Thanks so much for contributing, Tom! Glad to have you participate.

posted at 4:29 PM on May 21st 2008

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