The moose

It’s almost like the story of the ugly ducking. When Jan-Erik Andresen bid on the colt as a yearling, he thought his future star looked more like a moose. Though the big, burly colt was never a swan, eventually Yarrah Boko grew into one of the best long-distance trotters in Europe.

The burly son of Coktail Jet was too big for his own good at first. At 3 he had not yet fully grown into his body, winning 2 of 8 races while breaking stride in the other 6. He needed time and fortunately, owner Andresen and trainer Trond “Bullern” Anderssen were prepared to give him plenty of that. Training in slow tempo in hilly forest roads around his farm, Anderssen gave Yarrah the physical foundation that served him so well later in life. In the winter training building up to his 4-year-season Anderssen noticed the pieces were starting to really fall into place.

Maturing into a star

At 4, a much stronger and more prepared horse came to the races – one that was finally starting to look like a complete package. Even though he still broke stride a few times that season, Yarrah had grown into his body and added the necessary muscles to make him strong enough to master his demanding gait. Yarrah Boko won 8 of 16 races at 4, unfortunately the only bad performances of the season came in the two biggest races, the Swedish Derby and the Grand Prix de l’UET. In the Swedish Derby he got tired after an extremely demanding race and broke stride in the final stretch, the race won by Maharajah in 1.12,8 (1:57.1), while in the Grand Prix de l’UET, also won by Maharajah, traffic problems had him boxed in most of the race and unable to be a factor. Despite these setbacks he showed plenty of promise. In particular, his win at Solvalla in a race for 4-year-olds on the Elitlopp Sunday was quite impressive, Yarrah winning in 1.13,6 (1:58.2f) over 2100 meters (1 5/16 mile). Anderssen was also impressed with how the burly colt behaved that day: the Elitlopp Sunday is a very noisy day by all standards, yet the phlegmatic and laid-back Yarrah fell asleep in his stall and his trainer had to wake him up for the warm-up.

The follow year Yarrah was ready to take on the elite over the longer distances. Winning Stayerløpet, the 3100 meter (1 5/16 mile) race at Oslo in mid-May, he followed that up by winning the almost 2-mile-long the Harper Hanovers Lopp at Solvalla two weeks later, immediately marking himself one of the better trotters in Europe over very longer distances. Even though he still lacked the top speed and acceleration of the best sprinters, his strength, which ensured he pretty much always had a powerful finish, made him a very difficult competitor. But Yarrah still hadn’t fully matured, making unnecessary breaks in Malmö Stora Pris and the European Championship for 5-year-olds. A third place in the Jubileumspokalen after yet another strong finish, having sat most of the race fifth over, provided some consolation. In October that year he further underlined his arrival at the elite level by finished second in the Swedish Championship behind the nearly unbeatable Torvald Palema.

His first French win

Sent to France for a few races that winter, Yarrah started his 6-year-season in style, winning the Prix de Bar-le-Duc on Jan 2, 2011, driven by Jean Michel Bazire. However, his next start in the Prix Tenor de Baune, where a win would give him a spot in that year’s Prix d’Amerique, ended in heartbreak as Yarrah again broke stride and was disqualified. He would not go an entire season without making a single break until he was 8 years old. Finishing third in the Olympiatravet, he then got locked in a tough mid-race duel with Rapide Lebel, on a soggy track in the Oslo Grand Prix and for once ran out of steam.

He had still shown enough to earn an invitation in the Elitlopp, though, and finished second in his elimination. In the final he was unlucky and ended up outside of the leading Arch Madness but showed his strength and overpowered the US trotter in the final stretch. He was unable to withstand the fast closing trio of Brioni, Rapide Lebel and Rakas, but could hold his head high after a somewhat surprising fourth-place finish. Finishing second in Jämtlands Stora Pris, winning the Norrbottens Stora Pris, and finishing third in the first heat of the Åby Stora Pris he was one of the favorites ahead of the the Swedish Championship. There he surprised many by taking the lead early. A relatively slow first mile was followed by a considerably faster last lap and Yarrah managed, though barely, to hold off a fast closing Noras Bean.

The success did not surprise Anderssen. Even though the colt might have looked like a moose as a yearling, the trainer knew the horse had great genes. By French champion sire Coktail Jet, his dam Big Blue Kitten traces maternally back to Armbro Regina and Armbro Flight, and this was exactly the kind of pedigree Anderssen was looking for in a future star. He would also be proven correct with Yarrah’s one year younger brother Zola Boko being the outstanding European 3-year-old in 2009, winning the European Championship for the age group before an injury forced his retirement early in 2010.

An injury that kept coming back

Another trip to France in the 2012 winter meeting ended in two disqualifications, in the Prix de Bourgogne then the Prix de Cornulier, but Yarrah got some vindication when he won the Prix du Luxembourg with Franck Nivard. Back in Sweden he finished second behind Commander Crowe in the Olympiatravet after racing outside of him the last lap. This earned another invite to the Elitlopp where he impressively won his elimination in 1.09,7 (1:52.1), his lifetime mark, but in the final he had to race outside of the leading Commander Crowe for most of the race and finished fourth. Tragedy struck when a suspensory injury was found in his left front leg just a week after the race, causing a five-month absence. This injury would unfortunately plague Yarrah for the rest of his career.

He returned to the track with a win in Bergen, Norway, a little less that five months later, in Oct 2012. After 2-1-0 in 4 races in Norway and Sweden, he was sent down to France for the 2013 winter meeting. It was a return to his old, unsteady self when he was disqualified in the Prix de Bourgogne, but a surprise win in the Prix de Belgique made Yarrah seem a Prix d’Amerique candidate. It was a crushing blow, however, when the left front leg suspensory injury returned a few days later. Instead of starting in the Prix d’Amerique, Yarrah was put on the injury list for six months.

Back to back Belgique-wins

Returning in a 3160 meter (almost 2 miles race) at Jarlsberg, Norway in July, he won his first three races back from injury. Although he failed in the Frances Bulwarks Lopp, he was an impressive second in the Swedish championship, losing to On Track Piraten after being the front-runner for most of the race. Trying his luck in France in his fourth consecutive winter meeting, Yarrah impressed when winning the 2014 Prix de Belgique with Pierre Vercruysse, finishly strongly to catch Univers de Pan at the line. What impressed many observers was that the colt won it even though he had been out for almost three months, a consequence of a cautious Anderssen who had preferred to train instead of risking any injuries in high-tempo races ahead of the important winter meeting races. Not only that, the win meant Yarrah Boko had won races in four straight French winter meetings – a very unusual accomplishment for a Scandinavian trotter. The son of Coktail Jet wasn’t done impressing on French tracks, though.

Going into the 2014 Prix d’Amerique, Ready Cash and Up and Quick were considered the favorites while Yarrah was not given much consideration by the bettors. But on a wet and soggy Vincennes track, Yarrah’s strength gave him an advantage and the nine-year-old managed an impressive third place finish, behind Maharajah and Up and Quick. He followed up with another strong showing in the Prix de France where he finished fourth. Even though he was unable to keep up with the best in the 4150 meter (2 9/16 mile) marathon Prix de Paris it was a very successful winter meeting for Yarrah.

Forced into retirement

With two suspensory injuries, Anderssen became more reluctant to start Yarrah in lesser races. Knowing that the risk of injury would always be bigger in a fast paced race, regardless of the purse involved, than in a slow training session in one of the hills around his farm, Anderssen held off Yarrah Boko’s seasonal debut until the Olympiatravet in April. Sitting last at the half, Yarrah produced a fairly strong finish to capture fourth place, although it was obvious he was a bit off top form, seeming a bit sluggish.

Preparing the 9-year-old for the 2014 Oslo Grand Prix, trainer Trond Anderssen noticed that he was a little tender in his left front leg. When a medical examination revealed the suspensory injury had resurfaced yet again, both trainer and owner were quick to announce his retirement. According to Anderssen, “he has fought for all these years, he has come back on top after an injury most horses would not come back from once, so the last thing we will do is push him unnecessarily.” Yarrah Boko retired to stud at Norrby Säteri in Sweden in 2015.

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