After win at Harrah's Chester, Enough Talk shipping to Sweden

With a disappointing performance in the Su Mac Lad at the Meadowlands well behind him, Enough Talk was quick to return to his winning ways, turning in a 1:53.2 mile against open trotters at Harrah's Chester Thursday afternoon and is now headed to Sweden to race in the famed Elitlopp at Solvalla on May 25.

In a race devoid of early speed, the versatile Enough Talk ($3.40) went to the front, easily clearing Jake's Nordic (Tim Curtin) on the first turn and controlling the tempo through a respectable--yet controlled--half mile of :56.2. Moving up the backstretch, Canadian invader Chick N Tell (Eric Goodell) began to apply constant first-over pressure to the leader, reaching Enough Talk's saddle pad on the far turn, just past a three-quarter split of 1:24.4. With Chick N Tell all-out, and American Lane (Cat Manzi) looming from off the pace, Enough Talk responded quickly despite minimal urging from Tim Tetrick, drawing clear by 2 1/4 lengths for the 1:53.2 victory.

With the invitation to the Elitlopp still on the table, owner trainer Peter Kleinhans has decided to ship the 5-year-old gelding son of Enjoy Lavec to Sweden Wednesday.

“I thought they were going to un-invite him after that bad race, but they didn’t,” Kleinhans told harnessracing.com Friday afternoon. “I wanted to just make sure he was OK. I really wanted him to just race from the back of the pack and finish well. I really didn’t care how he did. But just some how the way the race ended up he ended up on the lead and he won. So, it was good enough for me to say, if they want him, we’ll go. They said they did, so we’re going.”

Kleinhans still can’t explain Enough Talk’s sixth-place finish in the final of the Su Mac Lad Series at the Meadowlands May second. “I have absolutely no explanation, which is part of the reason I was not sure about wanting to go,” Kleinhans said. “He scoped well, his blood was good, everything seemed good. I have no idea what happened.

Enough Talk will leave for Europe Wednesday morning, May 14, flying to Amsterdam and then trucked to Stockholm. Kleinhans said he will leave Friday night, arriving in Stockholm about the same time Enough Talk does Saturday morning.

Kleinhans is hoping to get Ron Pierce to drive Enough Talk in the Elitlopp. “He seems to be willing to go,” Kleinhans added. “He’s driven for me a lot, I think he’s a great driver and he loves it over there.”

Pierce drove Mr. Muscleman to a second-place finish in last year’s Elitlopp.

After the race at Harrah’s Chester Thursday Kleinhans said, “I just have no idea what to expect from the foreign competition; I've never seen any of them race. I have no idea, maybe they're much better or maybe they're inferior. That's sort of a big question mark."

In addition to the long trip to Solvalla, the two-heat format of the Elitlopp will prove grueling, but Kleinhans has faith in his horse. "I think he will respond to heat racing better than the average horse, because he's a tough, rugged horse. It'll affect him less than the average horse." (With files from Harrah’s Chester)

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