Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

Sand Vic Returns

May 15, 2007

Sand Vic, the defending Dan Patch Award winner as top older male trotter, returned to the races May 12 in a prep race for Saturday’s $185,000 Arthur J. Cutler Memorial at the Meadowlands in New Jersey, but Mr Muscleman, the division’s top horse in 2005 and 2004, continued to roll.

Mr Muscleman, who was the 2005 Trotter of the Year, won the prep by nearly three lengths over Ripped in 1:52; Sand Vic finished sixth, timed in 1:53.1. Mr Muscleman, a 7-year-old, has won all three of his starts this season and earned $3.4 million lifetime. He is expected to skip the final because he is heading to Sweden to participate in the Elitlopp on May 27.

“This horse is on top of his game; he’s one of a kind,” Sand Vic’s trainer Trond Smedshammer said about Mr Muscleman. “He’s been an exceptionally good horse, had injuries, and come back after that. You’ve got to take your hat off to that horse; he’s been amazing. I think he’s got a good chance over there (in the Elitlopp).”

Sand Vic, who is 6, won 10 of 18 races last year, including the Cutler, Breeders Crown and Nat Ray. He has earned $1.8 million in his career.

“He’s right on schedule,” Smedshammer said. “He kind of needed that start; he got tight. I think he’s ready to go. He seems good, seems normal. He should have another good year; to duplicate what he did last year would be tough.”