How Valley Victory inspired the Elitlopp favorite

On May 28 this year’s Elitlopp will take place at the Solvalla harness racing racetrack in Stockholm, Sweden. On the exact same date 31 years ago the father and son-team Berndt and Håkan Arvidsson bought a small mare at the Swedish elite auction.

The mare, Tiba Lavec (Ata Star L), proved to be a fantastic buy, and the inspiration came from US.

“A little before that auction I was in the US, and everyone was talking about Valley Victory as the next big stallion. That influenced my thinking, and I picked out Tiba Lavec as a result. Her dam, Victorious Tail, is a full sister to Valley Victoria, the dam of Valley Victory.

“So, I picked her out of the catalogue early, and went to look at her. She was small, but I liked her right away. It turned out to be great buy because she was very good,” Håkan Arvidsson recalls.

He is the primary breeder and owner of Elitlopp favorite San Moteur (Panne De Moteur).

Tiba Lavec was a good mare and won the Swedish Breeders’ Crown for three-year-old fillies in 1994 and was driven by his father Berndt. At the end of her career, she became a good broodmare, although the first foals didn’t show too much promise. Looking back at it, Arvidsson thinks they made a mistake in the short run that turned out to a stroke of genius in the long run.

“I used too many French stallions in the beginning. But even though it didn’t work out at the time it was hugely beneficial in the long run. The French influences in the pedigree meant there is a lot of strength there, and when we bred that back to a wholly American stallion, we got the perfect mix of strength and speed.”

“Tiba Lavec’s sire Ata Star L was by French-bred Tibur. She was first bred to Tenor de Baune, and we got San Moteur’s grandmother Kissy Suzuki. There was too much French in that pedigree and the mare had a very French gait and temperament. When bred to Ready Cash we got San Moteur’s dam Aung San Suu Kyi. She actually had a lot of talent. However, she was by Ready Cash and was a bit whimsical and challenging mentally, which limited her career. I always thought she would make a very good breeding mare, though, if only we could use something all-American on her and tone it down mentally. She is beautiful and tall, 16,2 hands, with an excellent conformation,” he points out.

Aung San Suu Kyi was then bred to Panne de Moteur. Hiding behind the cute French name, which translated means “engine failure” is a lightning-fast Swedish-bred son of Credit Winner (American Winner) and 2005 Hambletonian Oaks-winner Jalopy (Donerail). After repeatedly crossing French and American blood for several generations Arvidsson seems to have bred the near-perfect trotter: San Moteur is a frighteningly good package of speed and strength, and arrives at the Elitlopp with 17 wins in 22 starts.

At 2 the Swede noticed the horse was something special. Very special. 

“We were jogging at very slow speeds that fall, between 2:45 and 2:50, but there was something about him. I noticed he was something very different. Back then I said that this was a future world star. Of course, in reality I knew I had a trotter for the big races for three- and four-year-olds in Sweden. Going from that level, which is already high, to an international level, was a step I wasn’t sure about yet,” he says.

While Björn Goop is the official trainer, Arvidsson does a lot of the daily work. The two has a special and permanent bond, as Arvidsson is the brother of Annika, Goop’s mother. In other words, Arvidsson is Goop’s uncle. They share the same thoughts and philosophy, and Arvidsson’s patience has been an asset during San Moteur’s early career. The duo had their work cut out for them: at 3, the horse made eight starts, and only six the following year.

“There were quite a few problems at three and four. Before the Criterium, the biggest race for three-year-olds in Sweden, he was sick with an infection, and it was more of the same before the Derby the following year. He only really had two proper training sessions in the last two months before the Derby. Still, he finished third, which was impressive. San Moteur had a good foundation of training before that, and it certainly came in handy at that time. We were very patient with him, and I feel we are reaping the benefits now. There has always been a long-term plan,” he stresses.

That patience was obvious one year ago. After winning in 1:51.3f at Åby in April last year, all of Sweden was calling for San Moteur to start in the Elitlopp. Solvalla invited the horse, but Arvidsson politely declined. For the connections of a Swedish horse to refuse an Elitlopp invite is almost unheard of, especially for a sound horse in top form. But Arvidsson refused to bow to the pressure. However, his belief it would be beneficial in the long term proved to be correct.

“We said no last year, and you don’t turn down an invitation lightly. It is, after all, the Elitlopp, and you are always a little afraid that you won’t get another crack at it. However, San Moteur is much better this year, so it was right to say no. We didn’t want to start just to participate, we wanted to have a horse that could win. I feel we have that now,” he explains.

Surely it takes a special man to stick to his principles and put the horse ahead of the public outcry for the horse to start last year. One wonders if Arvidsson is just as patient with the two-legged people in his life? He laughs a little at the question.

“Oh, absolutely not!”

“But sitting behind a horse is a whole different thing. When I sit in a sulky I just relax and have all the time in the world.”

Instead of last year’s Elitlopp, they opted for the Oslo Grand Prix two weeks later. While Stoletheshow (Dream Vacation) rocketed to the lead, disaster was on the cards for San Moteur as he broke stride immediately. When he found his feet he was six-seven lengths behind the stretched out field. With a lap to go in the 2100 meter, 1 5/16th mile, long race, San Moteur was still two lengths behind the field. The son of Panne de Moteur put in a magnificent last lap, though, was impressed everybody by finishing second to Stoletheshow, who was untouchable that day. San Moteur, however, was just getting started. 

Two months later, at the beginning of August, he won Victory Tilly Trot at Solvalla. Two weeks later he demolished the competition when winning the Gr. 1-race Jubileumspokalen in world record time with a mile race of 1:52.1f over 2140 meters. With a lap to go, Goop moved San Moteur outside the leading Mister Hercules (Trixton). In the last turn he asked the horse for a little extra, and San Moteur responded by leaving the competition like it was the easiest thing in the world. The thoughts immediately went to the impressive win of Bold Eagle (Ready Cash) in his Elitlopp qualifier back in 2017. Mind you, this win may just be even more impressive.

SAN MOTEUR REPLAY

It’s not hard imagining the horse repeating the performance on Sunday. Arvidsson is feeling confident his horse is at his best.

“It’s looking good. He had his last workout on Thursday and is in top form”.

“I’m a bit nervous, but at the same time it’s fun, and also very special, to have one of the Elitlopp favourites. Before his first start this year, I was a bit uncertain of how it would look. However, he was fantastic and before the next race, Paralympiatravet, I was calmer and had believed we would win it. The feeling is a bit the same now, but there are many good horses in this race. The feeling is good, though.”

by Lisa Harkema, for Harnesslink