Francisco Castro has gone into the 2024 season with just 11 horses in training, but that does not stop him from competing on the top shelf. Sunday’s three runners produced two wins and a third place, and the triumph in the day’s main event, ITM Spring Mile (L), went to the stable’s six-year-old warrior Pusjkin.
ITM Spring Mile (L) had its clear ante-post favourite in the Cathrine Erichsen-trained Duca Di Como (Clodovil), who was running for the first time since his superior victory in Nickes Minneslöpning (L) on Stockholm Cup day last year.
In the intervening period Duca Di Como has had his right eye removed, and even though his energy did not quite last to the line on his seasonal debut, the horse undoubtedly gave his connections a good indication about the future.
Per-Anders Gråberg, who rode Duca Di Como in a race for the first time here, got the lead round the first turn as expected, but the pair got no peace.
Out along the back straight there was pressure on the outside from both the Patrick Wahl-trained Falkor (Barocci) and Lennart J:r Reuterskiöld’s defending ITM Spring Mile (L) winner Plantstepsdream (Planteur)-
A bigger gap then opened back to Pusjkin (Muhaarar), Pjerrot (Hard Spun) and Steinar (Union Rags), and in the middle of the back straight the small field was strung out in a long line.
Elione Chaves, who was riding for the first time since returning from Australia earlier in the week, already had to start work on Pusjkin here, but the horse responded excellently and at the same time benefited from the strong early pace.
Duca Di Como still had a comfortable lead into the home straight, but his stride was shortening while both Plantstepsdream and Pusjkin ate into the lead, metre by metre.
In the end Pusjkin was the best and won by a neck from Plantstepsdream, while Duca Di Como was a further neck away in third.
An excellent finish in the year’s first Scandinavian Listed Race, and for both Francisco Castro and Elione Chaves it was also ‘a victory within the victory’.
Castro gained his revenge for last season’s narrow defeat in this very ITM Spring Mile (L), and Chaves, who towards the end of his stay in Australia was told that the alliance with Duca Di Como was over, instead swept to the top with the rival.
The first prize in ITM Spring Mile (L) was worth 135,000 Swedish kronor to Pusjkin, who is owned by Stall Inger Linell – Asap, and the six-year-old gelding now has total earnings of 2,266,150 kronor with eight wins from 23 starts.
Behind the first three past the post there were seven lengths back to the Bent Olsen-trained Pjerrot, who took fourth place ahead of Falkor and Steinar.
Elione Chaves and Francisco Castro subsequently also landed the Sunday Special with Footfall (Footstepsinthesand), but only after winning an objection against Fredrik Reuterskiöld’s Dakota River (Sioux Nation), who was first past the post.
The stewards found that Footfall was interfered with to such a degree that it cost the horse the victory, and the first two past the post were therefore reversed.
The second of Sunday’s main events was the sprinters’ Goffs Skånska Trängregementets Minneslöpning over 1,200 metres.
Here the crowd got a sublime display from Tord Nilsson’s seven-year-old Kinsman (Exceed And Excel), who left Nina Lensvik’s El Guanche (Power) behind in the straight and won by five lengths.
El Guanche just kept Fredrik Reuterskiöld’s Rangoon (El Kabeir) out of second place, while Mountain (Eishin Dunkirk) was fourth.
Kinsman earned 45,000 kronor for the victory under Annie Nilsson Lindahl, and the horse could well look as though he is heading for an even better season than last year, when among other things he was narrowly beaten into second place by City Code (Kodiac) in Zawawi Cup (L) on Swedish Derby day.
The year’s first race at Jägersro was won by the reigning champion trainer, Lennart J:r Reuterskiöld, and the stable’s first jockey Andreas Tapia Dalbark, with the Al Wukair son Yobro.
Yobro made all over the 1,600 metres and repelled without problems an otherwise fine challenge from Oscar Berneklint’s debutant Montauk (Masar), who looks a horse who will win a race before long.
In third came the stablemate of Kinsman, Great Green Rose (Dandy Man), ahead of Bent Olsen’s Napoleon (Al Shemali) and Vanja Sandrup’s Half Dream (Hurricane Red).
The Danish apprentice Mathilde Lund Johansen, who now works for Jessica and Padraig Long, had a tremendous day with two winners.
The first came with Veronika Jandová’s Billy’s Joy (Brazen Beau) over 1,200 metres, and she then ended the day by riding Jonna Larsson’s Kengät Jalassa (Helsinki) to a superior victory over 2,200 metres.
The biggest applause on Sunday, however, went to the former star jockey Manuel Santos, who on his comeback ride as an amateur rider won with Jane Olin’s eight-year-old Positano (Special Quest).
Santos was met with loud applause when he came back to the winner’s circle on the favourite, who had been backed down to 2.6 times the money.
