- We get the chance to start from scratch, with the same conditions as last year, and it feels great! says the horse's charismatic owner Pierre Pilarski.
Bold Eagle's crown has taken a bit of a beating. After two straight victories in the Prix d'Amerique at home in France, he had to settle for second place behind Swedish Readly Express last winter. And in Elitloppet a year ago he didn't get it right at all in the final where he crossed the finish line in fourth place. Admittedly, he did perhaps the most impressive performance in elite racing history in the trial when he crushed the world record mare Delicious U.S. and won in the running record 1.08,4, but it was of little consolation to trainer Sébastien Guarato and owner Pierre Pilarski when they left Solvalla.
- Last year we really felt that we were not fulfilling the mission with him and I am very happy to get a second chance. You don't always get that in life, but now we've got it and we'll really give it our all," says Pierre Pilarski.
We meet the horse-loving fast food king at the Hippodrome d'Auteuil racecourse in Paris. Recently, he has become interested in racing, but it is in trotting that he has been active for many years. More specifically, since 1994, when he bought his first trotting horse. Alongside his successful career as a McDonald's franchisee, the horses have been there and he has won a dozen races himself as an amateur driver. But it is as the humble and outgoing owner of Bold Eagle that Pierre Pilarski has become world famous in racing circles. He is often described as an ambassador for trotting.
- I have an incredible chance with this horse and I feel I have a duty to the trotting people, to all the people who make trotting exist today. I really have a feeling of having a mission for trotting. I feel that I have to share, otherwise I feel like a big egotist," says Pierre Pilarski, who for the second year running is extending a hand to the non-profit organization Stall43 in connection with Elitloppet.
The association offers trotting for autistic children and last year was given t-shirts to sell by the owners of Bold Eagle. The money has been used to build a riding and trotting track on the farm in Norrtälje. This year, Pierre Pilarski is donating caps that the association will sell at Solvalla during the weekend.
The noise level is raised and the reason we are at the racecourse, the three-year-old Fiumicino, runs in fourth in the Prix le Parisien obstacle race.
- It was his second race in life and since the trainer was happy, I'm happy too, because honestly I don't know much about racing," says Pierre Pilarski with a smile before we continue our conversation about Bold Eagle and Elitloppet.
- In that kind of race, with two heats on the same day, you really need to have a team behind the horse that works. They said the horse wasn't at its best in the final last year but it was us who weren't at our best.
The plan that Bold Eagles entourage has this year is not to run as fast in the trial and they also intend to change the routines between trial and final. Last year, for example, the horse was showered after the trial, but that will not be done this year because it can give the horse the signal that it is finished.
- When we came to Elitloppet last year, we had managed to win the Triple Crown (Prix d'Amerique, Prix de France and Prix de Paris), we had won the Prix de l'Atlantique and we felt invincible. Now we will be much more humble and I think the team around the horse will be at its best this year.
As for Bold Eagle's daily status, the reports are in the major. The horse has made two starts this spring. In March, the 41-time millionaire won the Criterium de Vitesse in a race record 1.08,9 and most recently he defended his title in the Prix de l'Atlantique from the lead.
- I don't think we can have him in better shape than now. If we are beaten in Elitloppet, it will be by horses that are better than ours.
Pierre Pilarski is on the phone from the Hippodrome d'Auteuil when the starting gate for the elite race trials is drawn on live Swedish television. Bold Eagle draws number five in the first trial and when his owner disconnects the call, he smiles big.
- It was the number that last year qualified us for the final in record time, it was also the number that Timoko had in the final when he won, so secretly we hoped we would get number five. We get the chance to start from scratch, with the same conditions as last year, and it feels great!
Ola Johansson & Lissi Gustafsson, Kanal75
Photo: Lissi Gustafsson, Kanal75
