The horse who had to be bought twice

They bought the injured colt and brought him to Europe for stallion duty. But when Pershing healed he looked so good it was decided to race him, a decision that necessitates his owner to have to buy him again. But shelling out again for the excellent trotter who set three world records was an easy decision for his Swedish owner.

A good three-year-old, Pershing was considered one of the favorites ahead of the 1976 Hambletonian but finishing 3-4-5 in the first three heats “only” secured a sixth place (the race was won by Steve Lobell ahead of Zoot Suit and Armbro Regina). Pershing didn’t win any of the big races but picked up wins in some of other races such as Reading Futurity, Tompkins Memorial and Horseman Futurity.

A serious injury that went away

Berndt Lindstedt had noticed Pershing and really liked the type, a somewhat smaller and lighter type with natural, fluid gait and plenty of speed – not to mention that he thought a son of Nevele Pride would be perfect for Europe. He alerted stallion owner KG Bertmark about his possible availability and Bertmark responded positively to the idea. But when Lindstedt and Wallner inquired it turned out that a group of Italian investors were already in contact with breeder and owner Joe Mendelson and had secured right of first refusal. Luck were on their side, however, as the Italians pulled out when they learned that Pershing had picked up a suspensory injury.

Lindstedt believed the injury would heal and in the fall of 1976 Bertmark bought the horse for what has later been described as “a modest price”. The injured horse was placed in a big snow-filled paddock on a farm outside of Stockholm so his injury would heal and the horse get ready for stallion duty. But in late winter, Lindstedt was amazed to see that the 4-year-old showed absolutely no sign of his injury and was in otherwise perfect condition – things looked so good it would be foolish not to see what he could do on the track. This was not planned, though. “We didn’t treat the injury, he healed all by himself” Lindstedt later said. The stallion career was put on hold and Lindstedt and Wallner set their sights on returning the Nevele Pride-son to top form. Despite it taking longer than planned and Lindstedt later praising Bertmark for his patience, it wouldn’t take long!

An irate former owner

Despite Lindstedt being patient, Pershing was ready soon enough! In the summer and fall he was already starting to establish himself as one of the top aged trotters in Europe. But after winning in Hilversum, Netherlands in 1.14,2 (1:59.2), a new track record, the racing career almost came to an abrupt and dramatic end – again. According to Tomas Bertmark, former owner Joe Mendelson came – unannounced and totally out of the blue – into the winners’ circle and told the new owner that they had only acquired the stallion rights to Pershing, not the right to race him. Bewildered, Bertmark called Wallner who in turn immediately flew over from the US to negotiate. The potentially dramatic situation ended with Bertmark “buying” the horse again, the second purchase contract being agreed in a Hilversum hotel room … so in reality, in less than one year, Bertmark bought Pershing twice! A week later Pershing got his first big win in the Elite-Rennen in Gelsenkirchen in Germany, defeating the French monster Bellino II, Roquepine’s son Granit, and Equileo. Pershing won 13 of his 26 races in his European debut season in 1977, other major wins including the Preis der Besten in Germany and Gran Premio delle Nazioni in Italy.

1978 proved an even better year with 18 wins in 31 starts, even though he failed where it mattered the most to his Swedish owner and trainer. Pershing underlined his abilities in his Elitlopp elimination where he narrowly beat the French star Hadol du Vivier. Even more importantly, he won in a new world record time, 1.13,2 (1:57.4f), erasing the former record set by his sire Nevele Pride. Lindstedt had picked post 1 in the final but as the field started accelerating, Pershing was struggling to stay on gait and broke stride shortly after. With Lindstedt and Pershing out of the picture, Hadol du Vivier and Jean-Rene Gougeon narrowly won ahead of four other horses. The best was yet to come, though. In 1979 Pershing racked up 18 wins in 27 starts. The highlight was undoubtedly the Elitlopp win where they avenged the previous year’s loss with an easy two-lengths win. This time, Lindstedt picked post 3 and got perfect cover second over behind Hadol du Vivier. When he pulled out on top of the final stretch, Pershing easily flew by everybody. His other wins that year included Olympiatravet, Jubileumspokalen, Elite-Rennen, Campionato Europeo and Gran Premio delle Nazioni, and at the end of the season he was retired.

A great stallion

When he retired he was 55-20-15 in 115 starts. His career included wins in US, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Italy. A good reason for his success almost everywhere was that Pershing had both speed and strength. Moreover, he was not sensitive to go first over if necessary, though Lindstedt often preferred to sit further behind and play out his strong finish somewhere around the last turn.

Pershing entered stud in 1980 and his first crop contained the star Mack the Knife. Two years later came the excellent filly Newmarket S, who excelled in the US. Pershing produced many stars, mainly in Scandinavia but also a few in France – most notably Blue Dream, Italy, Finland and even Austria. Despite being by Nevele Pride and with Bombs Away, both known for their terrible temper, as a damdamsire, Pershing generally produced relatively calm-tempered and balanced foals. Pershing was later awarded “Elite stallion” status in Sweden because of his excellent production.

Pershing passed away in 2001, 28 years old.