Irving Berlin and Bing Crosby may have been dreaming of a ‘White Christmas’ but as winter takes hold of North America, owner Tristan Sjoberg is dreaming of white horses. Already part of the ownership group of the white pacer White Bliss, a 5-year-old by Art Major, Sjoberg is bringing another white horse stateside in the hopes of infusing more color into the standardbred population. Via Lattea, a 3-year-old Italian born filly by Gruccione Jet, a son of Pine Chip, was expected to arrive in the United States on Wednesday (12/20) and head to the Ake Svanstedt barn. She has only six starts to her credit thus far due to minor injuries, with a third and a fourth as her best finishes to date. “The plan is to ultimately breed her to White Bliss, but as his sperm is not of sufficient quality to freeze it was a question of either shipping her to him or him to her,” said Sjoberg as to the reason for Via Lattea’s arrival in the U.S. from Sweden. “As both are planned to race in 2018 and there is no pacing in Sweden, it made more sense to ship Via Lattea to New Jersey rather than the other way around. I will most likely retire her from racing at the end of the next season, i.e. this time next year.” While White Bliss has been somewhat unsuccessful on the track, with just 3 wins from 40 career starts, the publicity alone of having a white horse on the track has increased exposure for the sport and a few more could similarly pique the public’s interest. Bringing together two white horses to breed would logically increase the chances of producing a white foal and that of course is what Sjoberg, who owns White Bliss as part of Knutsson Trotting along with Asa Sjoberg, is hoping for. “I have been told by the geneticist in Europe that as neither White Bliss or Via Lattea are mutations (or Albinos) but rather the results of random pairing of genes that resulted in the white color being dominant, the chances are up to 25% that they will produce white foals,” said Sjoberg. “So, the objective here is clearly to produce more white horses! She has to be in quarantine for two weeks, so I expect her to qualify in early March sometime as she is in racing good condition right now but will need some time to acclimatize to her new ‘home’.” The pairing is in interesting one not only because of the color similarities but because White Bliss is a pacer while Via Lattea is a trotter.  The most famous recent mixed breed success was trotter Googoo Gaagaa, who earned over $650,000 and won in 1:50 4/5 despite being a combination of a pacing sire and a trotting mare.