V75 (jackpot): "He is better than ever"
Mats Karlsson's Lord Horse has come into a magnificent form.
On Saturday, when V75 comes to Årjäng, he chases his fourth straight win.
"My horse is probably better than ever and he should have a chance to win" says the Örebro-licensed trainer.
Lord Horse has truly impressed in his last three starts and he won both elimination and final of Midsommarloppet at Lindesberg. In his last start, he won Mantorpsloppet after having gone wire-to-wire.
"Lord Horse is probably better than ever and at the same time, things have gone his way in his last starts and he hasn't had to waste any energy. I guess many thought that racing him back that soon at Mantorp, after having raced twice at Lindesberg was tough, but he wasn't used very hard there so that's why I chose to do so" says Mats Karlsson.
On Saturday, V75 is raced at Årjäng and it comes with a jackpot menaing there is SEK 35 million in the pool for all seven winners picked. Lord Horse drew post position five behind the gate and he can leave fast.
"He has a good, natural gate speed. Thankfully, I am not driving myself, so I can just watch from the side and note how the race goes and come to my own conclusuions after that and I never interfer with any tactical choices. It seems like there are a few quick leavers to his inside and we will see how it unfolds".
Fun to follow his journey
Mats' nephew Petter Karlsson is driving the horse and he has the trainer's full confidence.
"I am impressed by how good Petter is in the sulky. He keeps developing and it's fun to follow his journey. He works very hard and I am full of admiration for how all the catch drivers have energy to spend so much time on the road. I have won 900 races myself, but I honestly can't understand how I got that many when I see all these good young drivers today. But back then it was a different game and most trainers drove their own horses".
Are you making any changes on your horse for Saturday?
"Well, I hope that Lord Horse can race barefoot upfront, but I dont know for sure and it doesn't make that big of a difference for him. He races with set earplugs, since he is very scared of sounds that are new to him. We have tried without them and we almost ended up on the highway. I have been able to get him used to smaller earplugs over a period time. Other than that, he will go with same equipment and the same sulky.
A win on V75 would mean a lot. Nowadays, Mats runs a smaller stable.
"I only train seven horses. I have two three-year-olds that I have some hopes for and the star of the stable is Lord Horse, of course. Obviously, a win on Saturday would be a lot of fun, not only for me but for all the connections".