V75®: "Has been in top from since he was five"
Will Stumne Fyr step up as the best coldblooded trotter this year?
If he does, nobody would be happier than Merete Viksås – the Norwegian woman who is the star trotter's trainer, owner, and breeder.
This Saturday, the 10-year-old will be the giant favorite in V75 at Bollnäs.
"He is in super form and he has actually been in top form since he was five years old!"
Since Odd Herakles retired from racing last year, the world of coldbloods (Sweden, Norway, and Finland) has not had a true number one.
After Unionskampen at Färjestad in September last year, when Öystein Tjomsland's star trotter Tangen Bork was beaten, many have wanted to put Stumne Fyr in that top position.
In the Nordic Championships in Finland, Stumne Fyr was locked in behind Grislefaksen G.L. and he lost to the same horse again at the end of last season.
After that, Stumne Fyr has been piling up wins and he will be the giant favorite in the coldblood division (V75-4) at Bollnäs this Saturday together with driver Ole Johan Östre.
On his last visit at Bollnäs, in the middle of December, Joakim Reiser's Eld Tekno was beaten already at the top of the stretch in a V75 race with the same conditions as the one this Saturday.
Maybe the hometown horse Eld Tekno is the toughest opponent once again.
"It's very tough in these races in Sweden, but we always go for the win. I am always optimistic about Stumne Fyr because he always does his best. And with this super form he is in now, I'm extra proud to go race him" says Merete Viksås, a professional trainer at Biri Racetrack in Norway, with twelve coldblooded trotters in training.
"Coldbloods have a sense of humor"
Merete Viksås has also trained warmbloods and has had some decent 1:12-trotters. But coldbloods are her thing.
She is usually very loud and proud when she celebrates her wins by the apron of the track. Merete Viksås has a catchy way of celebrating.
"You should be happy when you're as lucky as I am. I also believe that the coldbloods have more sense of humor than the warmbloods. And Stumne Fyr really has a sense of humor. He loves to race and is not at all happy when he's off. I bred him and got him back when he was five years old and have raced him ever since. Routines are important. If everything goes on as usual, he is fine. He once had a month off and then he sort of came up to me and talked to me and wanted to train!"
A secret weapon on the truck
The breeder's name Stumne comes from her farm in Roa, 70 kilometers north of Oslo. She has bred 50 horses with the name Stumne over the years. The three-time millionaire Stumne Fyr is the best horse she has ever bred.
She got her professional trainer's license in 2023 after having had an amateur trainer's license for many years. Monster Merete, the winner of the Norwegian Mares Derby for coldbloods in 2021, the now active broodmare Arvesølv, and Slogum Gry who was voted best coldblooded mare in Norway three years in a row are other top coldblooded trotters she has trained.
This Saturday, Viksås also brings the 5-year-old mare Åsa Mona to Bollnäs. Åsa Mona, who finished second in the Mares Derby for coldbloods last year, comes out in a race before V75 (4th race) with SEK 100,000 to the winner.
"It's tough for her to start with a 40-meter handicap and she is better in the summer than in the winter. I think 2,600 meters could be an advantage for her, though".
"A huge advantage"
The fact that Åsa Mona joins Stumne Fyr on the trip to Bollnäs is a big help according to Merete. The 10-year-old Stumne Fyr is a gelding but he acts like a stud together with his best friend.
"He is so calm with her on the truck. He has a special relationship with her. He loves traveling together with Åsa Mona. She didn't come on the last trip he made and it's a huge advantage that she comes with him on Saturday. He knows he's a gelding, but he likes to sound like a stud horse only when she's around. Then he's a real man so to speak" says the trainer and laughs.
Are you afraid that he won't be able to stay in form all spring up until one of the big goals this year, Elitkampen at Solvalla?
"I'm not at all worried about that. He still has a lot to do on the tracks. Last year, he had lots of bad luck. He either got run into or started from terrible post positions, or he was locked in. He always races well on all distances".
He showed last week that his form is intact when he won by open lengths after Ole Johan Östre had made an early move to the lead.
"He won by half the stretch without Östre having to pull off the earhood. He always races with shoes and corks all year around, at least behind. So, if the track is hard on Saturday, it won't bother him. No changes, other than him getting to travel together with Åsa Mona" says Merete Viksås and fires off one of many laughs in this interview.