ANNIKE BYE HANSEN
Racehorse Trainer
annikebyehansen.com
Handicapper of The Year, Norway 2017 - with 6 wins
Stabell talk 2021
Calcaterre - age no hindrance
It is not at all unusual for sprinters to keep their form well as older horses. As we saw with our champion Captain America, age is no hindrance in this division. Calcaterre is another good example. Getting ready for this ten-year-old campaign, he is a tough, battle hardened fighter who recorded his 16th career win when landing the Giant Sandman Cup Sprint over 1170 metres on the turf at Øvrevoll last July. Ridden by Elione Chaves, Calcaterre produced a rock solid performance that day, pipping the smart filly Ramone while giving her 3kg. Backcountry finished third, with Martini filling fourth place. The win was worth 62.500 kroner. Calcaterre earned a bit more in the second half of the season and his career total now stands at 1.484.577 kroner. A look at his past two campaigns makes for interesting reading. He won twice in 2019 with 172.419 kroner in earnings and last year he actually picked up 181.698 kroner. Financially measured, he did slightly better at nine compared to when he was eight years old. Can he keep up the good work in 2021? Why not? Calcaterre continued to be competitive right to the end of the 2020 season, with three runner-up efforts in the autumn, including two such placings within a week in October / November, when he ran second in two valuable handicaps over 1100 metres on the dirt track, beaten by Shantou and Madi Banja.
Calcaterre, who won six times and was voted Handicapper of The Year back in 2017, stays further than pure sprint distances. One of his wins in 2019 came over 1600 metres. This versatility gives him options, which is obviously a big advantage when Annike picks his races. His consistency, on the other hand, means that Calcaterre will hardly ever be leniently treated in handicaps. His current handicap mark is 83kg, just 1kg lower than his end of season mark in 2019 and 3kg lower than his career high. Pretty remarkable for a horse with his sort of mileage on the clock.
Bred by Storfjord Stutteri, Calcaterre is a son of the well bred Juddmonte stallion Camacho out of the Desert Sun mare Chasing The Dream. Chasing The Dream won over 6 furlongs and a mile in Ireland. Her dam, Dream Of Jenny, was a fine broodmare who produced six winners, most notably Jack Dawson, who won 9 times (including twice in smart company over jumps) and Destinys Dream, a winner of 6 races. It's no big surprise to discover that Calcaterre comes from a family of strong and durable performers. With 53 top three finishes from 107 runs, he is a true credit to his trainer. GS 270221
Al Buraq, Calcaterre, Mestre dos Magos all set for finale
Three of the sport's true cornerstones round out the season
10 Nov 20: Annike sends out three runners at Øvrevoll Galopp tomorrow, as the course will stage the last raceday of 2020. It has been a season that brought out the best in several players, as organisers, trainers, jockeys and owners have all worked hard to get through the fixture list without a single cancellation - an achievement in itself. Annike's three that take part before the curtain goes down are Al Buraq, Calcaterre and Mestre dos Magos.
Al Buraq, a winner of 9 races to date and crowned Handicapper of The Year in 2019, will be making her 14th start of the season as she meets seven rivals in the Elgar Handicap over 2400 metres. This fine daughter of Crocker Road will be ridden by Cornelia Hartsman. Al Buraq has won once in 2020 and the good news is that, although she could become an excellent broodmare, she stays in training for 2021. Calcaterre takes part in the Emilio Handicap over 1100 metres. He will be partnered by Willa Synøve Schou. She rode Calcaterre also in his two most recent starts, both resulting in runner-up efforts over this distance. Calcaterre's consistency is a joy, but also a bit of a burden, because his handicap mark (84) has become quite constant - and understandably so. A winner of 16 races, one this year (when he has been in the top three six times), he has six to beat on Wednesday. Mestre dos Magos, who has 9 wins to his name, takes up the challenge in the Ecuador's Dream Handicap, a tricky contest over 1600 metres. He will get Nora Hagelund Holm in the saddle. Like Calcaterre and Al Buraq, Mestre dos Magos has done a good job this year, winning once and finishing second or third six times.
It is quite fitting that it is this trio that will round out the season for Annike. The 2020 campaign has been difficult, in many ways, and these three horses, reliable cornerstones, certainly represent the fighting spirit of the team at Skoganstallen. GS
Calcaterre - he knows where the line is!
09 Jul 20: We all know how tough and game he is - but even his main admirers must have been impressed as Calcaterre stuck his nose first across the winning line after a battle with the smart filly Ramone on this Thursday evening at Øvrevoll Galopp. This remarkable nine-year-old has now won 16 races from 97 runs. Not just that, he has also finished second 15 times and third 19 times, for a deeply impressive 51% top three strike rate - and he has amassed earnings of 1.398.979 kroner.
CALCATERRE'S 16 WINS
Runners-up in brackets
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2020: 1170 m dirt (Ramone)
2019: 1600 m dirt (We Got The Boss)
2019: 1170 m dirt (Pirlo)
2018: 1100 m dirt (Tertian)
2017: 1170 m turf (Vallance Road)
2017: 1100 m dirt (Barny)
2017: 1170 m turf (Backcountry)
2017: 1100 m dirt (Rossmos Secret)
2017: 1370 m turf (Dickie Dickens)
2017: 1100 m dirt (Pretty Perfect)
2016: 1100 m dirt (Pretty Perfect)
2016: 1100 m dirt (Pretty Perfect)
2015: 900 m turf (Sir Silk)
2014: 1600 m turf (Pocket Aces)
2013: 1170 m turf (Skrik)
2013: 1170 m turf (The Sin)
Stabell talk 2020
Calcaterre - as tough as they come
This tough son of Camacho, now nine years old, just kept on delivering also in 2019, when he ran 18 times and finished in the top three on no fewer than nine occasions. That gave the Stall Vamos owned runner a 50% top three record, even better than what Al Buraq achieved last year. However, while she won five times, Calcaterre went to the winners' circle twice. He was operating at a higher level tough, as Calcaterre's current handicap mark is 84. He began last season on 85 (after good campaign also in 2018) and his lowest mark through his busy campaign was 84. That's consistency for you, and perhaps nothing more than what we would expect from a horse who won six times and became Handicapper of The Year back in 2017. So, Calcaterre and Al Buraq have two things in common; they have both been a real win machine, and they are both on a career high handicap mark. It will be fascinating to see how Calcaterre performs this year. He won over 1100 and 1600 metres on the dirt track last year, when he kept his fine form right to the end of the season. Can he do as well in 2020? Not impossible, but he is a performer with 91 runs and 15 wins under his belt and improvement can hardly be expected. GS 18 Feb 20
First and second in Høstfinale!
Øvrevoll 24 Oct 2019: Høstfinale Sølvdivisjon, a highly contentious handicap over 1600 metres on the dirt track, was turned into a battle between two of our runners, as Calcaterre (ridden by Dale Swift) won the race from We Got The Boss (Nora Hagelund Holm). Mestre dos Magos (Carlos Lopez) finished fourth, with 50.955 kroner (of the 73.440 kr on offer) went to our horses. Annike and her excellent team enjoyed yet another good day at the races! Photo: Roger Svalsrød / hesteguiden
Three runners - two winners!
Øvrevoll 11 July 2019: Our excellent run of form continues. We had three runners on this summer evening and two of them ended up in the winners' circle. Al Buraq, gaining her second win of the term, was rewarded with 57,600 kroner for her impressive display in the Norsk Rikstoto Cup, run over 1600 metres. Ridden by Carlos Lopez, the Stall Jersey owned four-year-old was well on top at the finish, scoring comfortably by 4 1/2 lengths from Roman Princess.
Calcaterre (photo: hesteguiden.com), partnered by Dale Swift, captured the Lach Cup, staged over 1170 metres on the turf course. Shouldering 68 kg (151 pounds), he delivered some performance, beating Pirlo (59 kg) by a length and a half. The winner's slice of the purse in this event was 26,880 kroner.
Ginseng, our third runner this evening, ran respectably to finish fourth in the La Zona Løp over 2160 metres, with Carlos Lopez in the irons. The firm going was not quite to her liking and she ran well under the circumstances. GS