Hewitt is smiling in Sweden

THE early signs are good.

NSW horseman Brad Hewitt was impressed with what he saw when he arrived in Stockholm on Tuesday to reunite with his stable harness racing star, The Locomotive (Muscle Mass).

It’s the first time Hewitt had seen the Inter Dominion winner since he left for Sweden early last month.

“He looks good, not too thin and not too heavy,” he said. “It looks like he’s settled in well and they’ve done a good job with him.

“All I’ve really done so far is take him for a light job, but he seemed bright.”

Hewitt is in Stockholm to fine-tune The Locomotive for the world’s best trotting race, the Elitlopp, at Solvalla on May 25.

“I’ll know more about where he’s at when I take him to his first look at Solvalla (Thursday morning Swedish time),” he said.

“I think they’re going to let me put him behind the starting gate, too.

“It won’t be until I give him a proper hit-out that I’ll know exactly where he’s at, but the timing works well.”

Initial talk of a possible lead-up race now seems off the table.

“I don’t think so. We’ve got the chance to take him back to Solvalla again next week, which will be 10 days out from the Elitlopp.” Hewitt said.

“I’m still finding my feet myself, but they’ve got a fantastic 1000m track here where he’s stabled and the work we can do here, combined with a few trips to Solvalla, should have him where we need him.

“I’ll get through this workout and Solvalla, see where he’s at, and start to put everything in place.”

Hewitt himself was confronted with an unseasonal cold snap.

“It’s freezing. I think it was a top of about three degrees (celcius) here yesterday and that doesn’t include the windchill factor,” he said. “It’s bloody cold.”

The Locomotive is just the fourth Aussie-trained trotting to contest the Elitlopp, which consists of heats and a final on the same day.

When you include New Zealanders, the only Down Under trotter to make the Elitlopp final was Pride Of Petite, who ran fourth a heat and sixth in the 1997 final.

by Adam Hamilton, for Harness Racing Australia