Two of the queen’s three favorites are young and confident, the third is a powder keg running the last starts of his career.
The three favorites of the Queen’s Queen fought hard last year as well. Photo of the finish line of the mile section, where Liisan Tulilintu in the front was first before Ciira Tähte, who was screaming from the outside, and Suven Sametti, who was between the two. Ida Laine / Finnish Hippos
Favorites
Ciiran Tähte has three wins in his last three starts, the crown of all from all three legs of the Queen’s race. Ciira Tähti’s strengths are its reliability. It has not fired once this year and has been good all the time.
Last year, Ciiran Tähti was the runner-up in the queen competition by only 0.4 seconds, losing to Suven Samet. In the final stretch, everything was in their own hands after Ciira Tähti got into the lead. In the last section, the pressure was enough for fourth place.
Suven Sametti, who historically won the queen competition last year when she was only six years old, is the second favorite of the competition. Suven Samet has had bad lottery luck this season, but in its last start in Mikkeli, it was able to beat Ciira Tähte, and still had to settle for second place.
Like Ciira Tähti, Suven Sametti is a reliable and reliable competitor, who is likely to be in the top fight on all sub-distances. The margins between the favorite pair are small, but Ciira’s Tähti is the narrow number one favorite.
The third favorite of the competition, Liisa Tulilintu, is from a different country than Ciira Tähti and Suven Sametti. If the other two favorites are reliable, Liisa’s Tulilintu can do anything. A year ago, Liisan Tulilintu won both legs on Sunday, but because the opening leg came in last place, Liisan Tulilintu only finished fifth in the overall race. Two years ago, Liisan Tulilintu was second in the overall competition.
Liisa’s Firebird is fast and strong, but also prone to failure. Especially when she was younger, it was a real powder keg, and even though Liisa’s Firebird has calmed down over the years, her gallop can still surprise. The last time this happened was Mikkeli’s finishing start. For the opening leg, Liisan Tulilintu starts from the inside track and for Maili from the outermost place in the front row. A place on the sides of the front row can be an advantage for a hot horse, when the opponents are only on one side at the beginning.
Liisan Tulilintu is pregnant and running the last races of her career before being left for breeding. In the queen competition, it is participating for the last time.
Challengers
Hetviina stays in the challenger section. It has been the number one mare of the breed in recent years, although it has not won the queen race. This year, Hetviina hasn’t won yet, but from the last games it has second place and it seems that its condition is on the rise.
Two years ago, Hetviina won two partial distances and last year the opening distance, but in the overall competition the margins have not been on Hetviina’s side. Now, as confirmation, the stroller has a top driver Iikka Nurmonenwhile in previous years the coach Antti Tupamäki has driven Hetviina himself. In the last two years, Hetviina has been the queen’s favorite in advance, but now she has to raise her level from the earlier races in the season to win.
Taksvenla is the most likely contender for the top four in terms of the overall race. Taksvenla has really gotten up to speed in the last month and has been in the top ranks of open mare starts. Unlike some of the queen’s mares, Taksvenla’s condition seems to be still on the rise, and she will surely struggle for top positions at least on one trip.