Looking to take on the world

By Tim O’Connor (HRV)

Chris Lang knows the type of horse good enough to compete on the world stage and he’s dreaming big with emerging four-year-old Ollivici.

The son of Orlando Vici made it two wins from two starts this preparation with a dominant front-running display in the Leli and Mary Mifsud Memorial Winter Trotters Cup (second heat) at Kilmore on Saturday night.

Group 1 winner Parisian Artiste (Alex Ashwood/Tayla French) was having his first start for 2022 and ran second, while Zarem (Carla Innes-Goodridge/Ellen Tormey) trailed the winner to finish third.

Lang competed in harness racing’s flagship event, the Elitloppet in Sweden, with Sundons Gift during 2009 and spoke about the similar possibilities that could await Ollivici.

“We’re planning big things for this guy. Someone mentioned the Elitloppet recently, but they’re probably delusional even if it was me. I do get carried away easily,” the Riddells Creek horseman said.

“He’s going to keep developing, I think, for the next six months or more.

“I rate him very highly, this horse. I have for a long time.

“Whether he’s going to scale the heights of horses like Sundons Gift and Maori Time even, Skyvalley and Let Me Thru and these horses, they were the absolute best of their time.

“I think he’s a chance of being right up there in our top echelon of trotters. There’s very few that actually become the best, but I think he’s there.

“As far as overseas… I would love to go and if I get half a sniff I’ll be gone.”

Lang said it had been a slow process with Ollivici, who has only had 13 starts (five wins) in his career so far.

“He’s sparingly raced because we’ve had a few soundness issues, but I think we’ve put all that behind us now,” he said.

“We’ve basically spent about the last eight months at home just virtually getting him sound.

“I could have raced him a few months ago. He was trialling and beating the pacers at the trials, but we chose to turn him out and just keep building him up because it’s a tough time.

“He’s only a four-year-old and he’s going to get thrown in the deep end, obviously, very shortly…”

Ollivici is out of broodmare Belle Galleon, which makes him a half-brother to the brilliant million-dollar winner Stent as well as top squaregaiters Belles Son, My Arya and Izmok.