Aussie trotting star Just Believe (Orlando Vici) has thrived since his Elitloppet harness racing heartbreak and will stay in Sweden for his race.
Co-trainer and driver Greg Sugars said quarantine complications would prevent Just Believe travelling to Norway for the Oslo Grand Prix.
āIf he goes there, it would add an extra 60 days to our stay over here for quarantine purposes,ā he said. āSo, heāll have one, probably two more races here and theyāll be in Sweden.ā
The $250,000 Jamtland Stora Pris, an eight hour drive from Stockholm, is Just Believeās next target in Ostersund on Saturday week.
āAll going well in that, heāll go to Boden, which is about another four hours away, the week after and thatāll be it for him over here,ā Sugars said.
The Boden race is the Norbottens Stora Pris. Both it and the Ostersund race are 2100m mobile start features.
The race is known as the āRace in the Midnight Sunā because itās so far north in Sweden there is almost 24 hours of daylight at that time of year itās run.
āI think the tempo of 2100m will be ideal for him over here and suit him better than the mile racing,ā Sugars said.
Sugars is flying solo with wife, Jess Tubbs, jetting back to Melbourne to run their blossoming Myrniong stable.
āRight through the trip, āHarryā (Just Believeās stable name) has handled the trip better than me,ā Sugars said.
āHeās come through last Sundayās race really well. He seems bright and alert.
āHeās pretty amazing. Weāre so proud of how well he handled everything and continues to do so.ā
Just Believe was travelling strongly before being tightened for room, clipping a wheel and galloping out to last in his heat of the iconic Elitloppet at Solvalla in Stockholm last Sunday.
Sugars said he was still hurting from the disappointment.
āIām still struggling not to feel like a failure in what was one of the biggest moments of my career,ā he said.
āBut the support Jess and I have had from people at home has been quite overwhelming and helped get through the disappointment.
āWeāve also taken strength from the number of clubs over here who approached straight after the race and asked us to stay and keep racing on here.
āThey all said how well they thought he looked and competed before he broke.
āBosses from Finland, Norway and three tracks in Sweden all asked us to come to their big races, which makes you feel pretty good and shows weāve made a mark.ā
Just Believe is booked a flight back to Australia in mid-July.
byĀ Adam Hamilton,Ā for Harness Racing Australia