from Harness Racing Communications, a division of the USTA

Freehold, NJ — Nearly a month after arriving in the United States to compete in the Hambletonian, Adrian Chip, the runner-up in that race, is still under quarantine heading into the final of Saturday’s Yonkers Trot.

The horse is now stabled at Showplace Farms in Millstone, New Jersey, where he alone occupies a small barn apart from the other horses. Because he is a mature male horse, quarantine is more restrictive than if he were a filly. Adrian Chip was born and raced in the U.S. until late 2006, when he was bought by a Swedish group that includes hockey player Peter Forsberg and sent to trainer Robert Bergh in Sundsvall, Sweden.

The horse is accompanied by a security guard 24 hours a day because of U.S. Department of Agriculture restrictions and he must be accompanied by a vet when he leaves his barn.

USTA photo

Hambletonian runner-up Adrian Chip takes a break for some grass at Showplace Farm with his caretaker Katarina Ihrsen, who is wearing her trademark “Crocs.”

“He is still in quarantine,” said caretaker Katarina Ihrsen, who has been with the Bergh Stable for 11 years, “but it has worked out a little bit better so he can go out in a paddock more often. We have gotten better routines with the vet. If the paddock next to ours is empty then he can stay out longer. The vet just has to escort us back and forth to the paddock, but while he’s out there the guard and I just have to watch him. We have to watch him the whole time and not leave him by himself.

“At home, he was turned out all the time. He was turned out first thing in the morning and then let back out after he was jogged. He was out as much as possible.”

Ihrsen’s routine has lightened up a bit since she shipped to the U.S.; in Sweden, she takes care of six other horses in addition to Adrian Chip, so her routine is a bit more leisurely.

“Here, he gets breakfast at 6:30 in the morning. About 7:30 comes the vet, so that he can get out for a couple of hours. I cannot jog him until everybody else is done jogging on the track, about 1:00 or 2:00 p.m. When they are done, I can jog him and the vet comes to watch.

“Then in the afternoon he gets some massage and I play with him some, but he gets a little rough when I play with him. He bites on the brush and he likes it when you try pulling it away from him,” added Ihrsen, who also thinks the horse is less bothered by quarantine restrictions than the humans in his life. “He is very stable; he doesn’t care what you do, it’s me who gets frustrated over not being able to do what we’re used to. He’s been around (U.S. racetracks) before, so he doesn’t think it’s that bad. It’s just in the mornings he would really like to get out right away.

“He gets his dinner at 5:00 p.m. and all the feed came with him from Sweden in sealed bags, even the hay.”

One favorite that Adrian Chip does not have to import are the rubberish, brightly colored clog-like shoes called “Crocs.” His co-owner, Forsberg, is the Swedish importer of the popular shoes and Ihrsen wears them while caring for Adrian Chip. In Sweden, they are so closely identified with Forsberg that they are called “Foppa Shoes” after Forsberg’s nickname.

“Everybody at the barn has gotten Crocs,” says Ihrsen, who has a pair of khaki-colored ones, “but I’ve got to get a pair for Adrian, too, because he likes to chew on mine. He takes them from me when I’m sitting on the fence watching him, so I guess I’ll ask Peter for a new pair so Adrian can have his own.

“On Wednesday, Robert will train Adrian Chip. Robert will be here all week. He is also wearing Crocs. After the Yonkers Trot, the plans are to maybe race in the World Trotting Derby, but that is the last stake that he’s eligible for here.”

Below is the field for Saturday’s $644,770 Yonkers Trot at Yonkers Raceway in New York. Listed drivers and trainers are from the elimination races. Adrian Chip and Primary AS were elim winners.

Horse – 2007 Record – Driver – Trainer – Owner(s) or Lessees
Adrian Chip – 8-6-2-0 – $562,519, 1:54.2 – R. Bergh – R. Bergh – Stall Tre Puckar
Anderberg – 6-3-1-1 – $56,761, 1:54.4 – S. Smith – G. Sholty – J. Green, Pinnacle Racing Stable
Cayenne Turbo – 12-2-3-2 – $38,214, 1:54.4 – J. Meittinis – K. Thomas – River Ridge Farm, K. Thomas, G. Bechtel
Got That Look – 11-2-2-4 – $61,393, 1:58.2s – A. Miller – D. Niccum – Dojea Stables
Green Day – 14-7-1-2 – $231,690, 1:54.1 – C. Manzi – J. Raymer – Trillium Racing Stable
Primary AS – 8-5-0-0 – $187,125, 1:54 – T. Smedshammer – T. Smedshammer – Kittelsen Racing Stable
Quite Easy – 6-2-1-1 – $194,912, Q1:54.4 – J. Takter – J. Takter – Quite Easy Partners
Up Front Larry – 9-4-2-1 – $49,578, 1:56.2f – Y. Gingras – N. Daley – E. Mullinax