Trainer Ake Svanstedt's stable will have a major presence on Saturday night at the Meadowlands both in New Jersey Sire Stakes action for sophomore trotters of both sexes and the year's first major stake over the East Rutherford, New Jersey, mile oval. Svanstedt has three horses among eight entered in the $145,150 Arthur J. Cutler Memorial, with a pair of Breeders Crown champions in Southwind Tyrion and Jiggy Jog S making their initial starts in 2024. Svanstedt's talented collection of trotters will be on display throughout the Meadowlands 14-race program, with his sophomores kicking into action in the first race, a $30,000 New Jersey Sire Stakes event for sophomore trotting fillies. The veteran trainer, who came over from Sweden about a decade ago, has made an equipment change for Volcanic Blue Chip (post one), a daughter of Walner who cut the pace in the first round of the Sire Stakes only to finish second. "She got a bit nervous when I pulled the earplugs," Svanstedt said of Volcanic Blue Chip's reaction in the stretch when he needed her to sprint. "She won't have pulled out ear plugs this week." Volcanic Blue Chip moves inside after starting from post seven last week, and that should give Svanstedt more options versus a group that is still looking to make their marks in the sport. Southwind Metric (post four) put in a solid performance behind this year's Hambletonian winter book favorite Karl in his Sire Stakes debut, finishing second, though beaten nearly seven lengths. "It's not easy chasing Karl," Svanstedt said, aware of the huge ask of Southwind Metric in the stretch last week. "He's a small horse but he tries." Southwind Metric may not be facing Karl this week, but he'll have to deal with Mars Hill (post one) and Caballero (post five) in the second race on the card. Mars Hill won four times as a freshman and last week was second on debut in the NJSS opening round for trainer Tony Alagna. Caballero skimmed the pylons to a 17-1 upset for trainer-driver Trond Smedshammer, his maiden victory in just his third career start. Though French Champagne captured a division of the Sire Stakes for sophomore fillies last week (May 11), Svanstedt believes the Muscle Hill-sired filly will need things to go well for a repeat performance. "She's going to need a trip," Svanstedt said of French Champagne, a homebred that landed post six in the eighth race $30,000 event. Perhaps Svanstedt's concern here was the presence of Buy A Round (post five), a winner in seven of her 10 career starts, including a solid 1:55 1/5 victory in opening round action. Svanstedt likes the chances of Tony Adams S getting a check but recognizes the prospect of winning on debut is daunting considering the post draw and competition. Tony Adams S drew post seven, which is outside of Karl (post four) in the tenth race NJSS division for sophomore trotting colts and geldings. "He's a good little horse that got sick at the end of last year," said Svanstedt. "He was good in the qualifier and I expect him to race well." Perhaps the most interesting of Svanstedt's sophomores in Sire Stakes action is Pantoran, a gelded son of Walner that made an imposing debut in qualifying action at the Meadowlands on May 3. "He was so grabby as a 2-year-old and would choke [down]," said Svanstedt of the difficulty he had trying to turn Pantoran from a nice prospect into a winning racehorse. "The owner wanted a stallion, but we gelded him in December." According to Svanstedt, Pantoran was somewhat better in his qualifier, but he wasn't ready to claim victory in his goal of turning this $110,000 Lexington Select yearling purchase into a stakes winner. "I was surprised with the 25 4/5 last quarter, and he did it on his own without me asking," said Svanstedt. "We'll see how he does after a couple of races." Pantoran posted a 1:54 3/5 mile while charging over the field in his qualifier and will be making but his third career start on Saturday. He starts from the pole position in the 13th race, a $30,000 Sire Stakes event for colts and geldings. First leg winner Benny J (post three) and runner-up Waterfall (post five) are a solid pair from the Tony Alagna stable in this division. ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter Svanstedt became a co-owner of his champion Jiggy Jog S when the mare was sold earlier this year. "It's a group of breeders that bought her, but they wanted to race," said Svanstedt, who said he was the only non-breeder in the new ownership group. "We'll race her through the year and maybe bring her back again in 2025." Jiggy Jog S drew post seven as the only mare in the Cutler Memorial (race 11), and while Svanstedt likes her chances, her debut may not include a peak performance. "The qualifier was a little faster than we wanted to go," Svanstedt said. "She trained back well." Ake will drive Southwind Tyrion (post five) in the race and he didn't seem to know what he would find with the 6-year-old Breeders Crown champion. "He wasn't very good in the qualifier," Svanstedt said. "I think he knew it was a qualifier and not a race." Perhaps with the lights on Saturday night Southwind Tyrion will put his game face on as he looks to become the sport's newest millionaire. Asteroid (post two) sored up on Svanstedt last year and he's happy with the progress the 6-year-old son of Creatine has shown coming back to the races. Tim Tetrick drives Asteroid, who qualified with Lasix for the first time, winning in 1:54 on May 3 over the racetrack. The Meadowlands Saturday card, which also features the 2024 debut miles from millionaire older pacers Allywag Hanover and Abuckabett Hanover, gets underway at 6:20 p.m. (EDT).