Though the name Zelenskyy has been in the news daily, Vic Zelenskyy, the 4-year-old son of Greenshoe and Mission Brief, has been absent from the races since a failed attempt at the Breeders Crown in October at the Meadowlands. The good news for racing fans, specifically those in North America, is that Marcus Melander has him back in training and is looking forward to racing him in stakes action this side of the pond. "I'm grateful to Lennart (Agren-SRF Stable) for keeping him here. He would have a lot of opportunities to race in his native Sweden," said Melander, who seems to want to finish or at least appreciate what Vic Zelenskyy might be able to achieve this year after just 14 starts in 2024, his only year at the races. "He was sore as a 2-year-old," said Melander of Vic Zelenskyy. That kept him from making the races, and even as a 3-year-old there were times keeping him healthy was a primary objective. No trainer wants to make mistakes with a $550,000 yearling, and Melander's patience started to pay off late last year when Vic Zelenskyy put in a pair of eye-popping 1:50 1/5 miles at The Red Mile. While the times were fast and the competition wasn't the greatest, there was plenty of indication that with a bit more experience Vic Zelenskyy had more than enough talent to take on the challenge. "I think with another year there could be more maturity," said Melander, who also expects a more developed horse to have fewer soundness issues. Melander should know a little bit about the breed in that he trained Vic Zelenskyy's older sister Jaya Bae, a filly with plenty of ability but also plagued by soreness issues. Also, last year's freshman Kadena, a filly by Gimpanzee, was a solid performer in Kentucky. "She was a big filly," said Melander of the Mission Brief-foaled Kadena. "She took a 1:53 mark at The Red Mile." Digging deeper into the family, Melander also has the 2-year-old full brother to Jaya Bae named Apex, a $525,000 purchase at last year's Harrisburg sale. "He feels better, stronger," said Melander of Vic Zelenskyy, perhaps a telling sign that two years of development may finally have been worth the wait for owners and trainer alike. While the Hambletonian can no longer be won, there is still plenty out there to prove, and most definitely given Vic Zelenskyy's impressive pedigree, a stallion career must be on the table. "Right now, I'm getting him ready for the Graduate Series," said Melander. "He'll probably qualify a couple of times before that." The first leg of the Graduate is slated for May 31 at Woodbine Mohawk Park. ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter It will be interesting come July to see which horses show up for the $400,000 Hambletonian Maturity at the Meadowlands. A total of 36 horses were named to this year's event, with a surprising nine mares on the list. Notable names on the male side joining Vic Zelenskyy include Karl, Highland Kismet and Amazing Catch, with each of those three having huge moments in 2024. On the mare side, Date Night Hanover, Drawn Impression, R Melina and Warrawee Michelle hope to fill the shoes on the racetrack of the now-retired Jiggy Jog S. With a stable filled with 2- and 3-year-olds, Melander's focus is likely to be on getting to this year's Hambletonian with the winter book favorite Maryland. "He feels great," said Melander when asked about the son of Chapter Seven. With the stakes calendar now in place, Melander has set out his preliminary schedule for Maryland. "We're looking for his first start to be in the Empire Breeders Classic at Vernon," said Melander of the June 13 race that is restricted to New York-sired horses. "There's a Sire Stakes before that, but I think we'll pass and qualify him a couple of times at the Meadowlands." Melander has been in the position of bringing back other solid 2-year-olds for their sophomore campaigns and was asked if there's anything about Maryland's return that may be different. "I think what I'm happiest about is that he only had nine races as a 2-year-old," said Melander. "We could have raced him in the Valley Victory but I'm glad we didn't." Maryland handled the extensive traveling as a 2-year-old like a pro, and Melander believes that could be to his advantage this year with more stakes racing. Melander's three-time Breeders Crown champion Gimpanzee had a small first crop hit the racetrack last year and was quite successful. Kadena is looking good coming back for her 3-year-old season but may have limited opportunity. "She doesn't have dual-eligibility, so it will be tough to find races for her," said Melander. Luna Lovegood earned $304K and was Gimpanzee's fastest performer, trotting to a 1:51 4/5 mark at The Red Mile. She ended her freshman campaign on the losing end of a three-way photo finish in the Goldsmith Maid, just a nose behind What A Bid Hanover and Voguish on the wire. She also captured the Matron at Dover Downs against just three rivals. Melander was also impressed with a son of Gimpanzee named Blank, a fourth-place finisher in the Breeders Crown that could be a sleeper this year. Melander has a host of quite expensive 2-year-olds in training and as is his custom has not reached a point in their training to offer his opinion of their potential. He did, however, offer up a general assessment of where his 3-year-olds are right now. "We started to bring some of the 3-year-olds that didn't race much last year to the Meadowlands last weekend," said Melander of his practice of showing more speed over the mile track than they can in training on his farm in final preparation for qualifying miles.