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Hunter Valley Stable and the Two-Year-Old Generation.
The winner of the first two-year-old trotting race in France was Kamehameha, at Beaumont-de-Lomagne on 10 July. Trained by Tomas Malmqvist the win confirms that this Swede trains for the Hunter Valley stable in Normandy, knows how to deal with young horses. He explained to us what he likes with this 'K' generation.
In 2021, the master of the 2yo trotting ranks was Philippe Allaire who won 25 races between July and December with the 'J' generation. However, Tomas Malmqvist won 17 races and it has taken only a few years for this Swedish trainer to make his mark on the French program.
What can we expect for 2022?
"We had lots of good two-year-olds last year, said Tomas Malmqvist. It's an important step for them to show early that they can run and also to enhance the value of the pedigree. It's the precocious horses who usually perform in breeding also. We are looking for that".
Tomas Malmqvist has fourteen two-year-olds currently declared in training. He loves this stage in training. "I like every good horse but it's rewarding to train a yearling and see him win 8/9 months later. Everything needs to be good. You have to be careful in every step of training. It's not easy. It's a delicate thing to do. When you start to train a yearling in September of the previous year, the goal is to have them prepared to commence racing in August the next year. This work makes you decide on their future plans – some are exactly as you expected, some may become injured, some are just not as precocious as you've imagined. You just have to observe because I really think every horse has his moment, his peak, and you have to be good to see when it's going to happen… and sometimes, it's not before reaching three".
Does his success have a link with his nationality?
"Scandinavia is not really into young horses. You could hear there a prejudice against French people who are said to train young horses lightly. But it's quite the opposite. French qualify more horses earlier than in Sweden. On July 22nd, you have only six 2yo's qualified in all Sweden. But for me, I always like to train them early.
When you put forward Philippe Allaire's name, Tomas Malmqvist is not shy in giving his answer:
"I am a big fan of Philippe Allaire. I like to compete against him because he is very good with two-year-olds. And I am more than happy when I beat him".
Always straightforward, Tomas Malmqvist doesn't hide his ambition for this year:
"I am lucky, I have a lot of two-year-olds to follow in my stable. Kamehameha who won the first two-year-old race this year and Kapitano de Source. They are the best, but the Hunter Valley stable has a lot of very good ones so don't forget to look at our horses closely".
French Trainers and Their Favourite Upcoming Two-Year-Olds
A lot of trainers have spoken about their young hopes for this K generation. Don't forget the following names.
- Philippe Allaire: Kurtis, Kitts et Nevis, Katmandou
- Thierry Duvaldestin: Kalea Dream, Karlita Bilou, Komifo, Kanada
- William Bigeon: Kyrielle, King Opera, Kezah Love, Kalida Mania
- Pierre Belloche: Koumba Mesloise, Kadira Mesloise, Killer Meslois
