Chase Vandervort loves to wake up to Fika Time

Fika Time is a horse that gets a little bit of attention for his name. A two-time New Jersey Sire Stakes champion, the harness racing pacer received the moniker from breeder-owner Chase Vandervort’s wife Louise Arvidsson, who is a native of Sweden. The name means “coffee time” in Swedish.

“She wanted a little bit of a Swedish name, so we went with Fika Time,” Vandervort said. “I thought it was kind of neat because most Swedish people have trotters, and we have a pacer that has a Swedish name. It’s kind of funny. In the paddock, a lot of the Swedish groom’s kind of paid attention a little more when he raced because of the name.”

Of course, winning helps attract attention as well. As Vandervort noted, “It’s the horse that makes the name.”

Fika Time, who makes his 4-year-old debut in a conditioned race Saturday at The Meadowlands, has won seven of 11 career races and $185,470. Vandervort, who trains the Sunfire Blue Chip-Raiders Favorite gelding, will be in the sulky as Fika Time leaves from post six.

Tim Tetrick drove Fika Time in the New Jersey Sire Stakes at ages 2 and 3, where he was unbeaten in a total of six starts in fields of two or three horses.

“It’s been a blessing, and it’s been such a surprise,” Vandervort said. “Everything happened so fast, so you didn’t really have time to enjoy it while it was happening. Looking back on it, it was a pretty amazing thing. I know, obviously, it was a two- or three-horse race, but the money is still in the bank, and we’re pretty thankful for that.

“We were very fortunate with the short fields, but I think we still put out a pretty good product with our horse. I think he has talent, but he’s kind of unproven. We’ll know a lot more in the upcoming weeks. I think we’ve got to work our way up through the (conditions) and then we’ll see what he is. We just want to develop him, do the right thing. We want him to feel good about himself.”

Vandervort, a 36-year-old New Jersey resident, has been involved in harness racing for nearly two decades. He started with his sister, Leah, before working for other stables over the years. He has a five-horse stable at his farm, where he also keeps a small broodmare band and spends several months a year prepping young horses for clients.

“I’ve done a bit of everything,” said Vandervort, who in addition to breeding, training, and driving has worked as a blacksmith. “I think this is kind of it.

“Obviously, if somebody called me tomorrow and said they wanted to put 20 one-hundred-thousand-dollar babies in the barn, I couldn’t say no to that,” he added with a laugh. “That would be fine. But right now, it’s a very relaxed pace around here with our couple racehorses and our little business four months out of the year breaking horses for people. We’ll see where it takes us for right now.”

Last year, Vandervort started 35 times as a trainer, hit the board a total of 20 times with five wins, and earned a career-best $175,552 in purses. In addition to winning a New Jersey Sire Stakes with Fika Time, he won another with 2-year-old male pacer Polaris Breech. That horse is owned by Leah, who also bred him.

“Time has been put in and I’m just happy things are working out a little bit,” Vandervort said. “Hopefully, it keeps up that way.”

As for Fika Time, it will be one step at a time.

“There is no pressure because I own him and train him,” Vandervort said. “As long as he does it the right way, I’m happy. Hopefully he can make his money and feel good about himself and develop into a nice overnight racehorse, or if we’re lucky, a nice open horse.

“I don’t want to go chasing (the Grand Circuit). I don’t want to push my luck too far. I hope I’m wrong about that. I hope he’s better than that. I’ll feel good about it if I’m wrong. That would be a good thing. But the long-term plan is to have a nice racehorse.”