V86® (jackpot): Became a trainer as a 73-year-old – now, "Calle" is racing in the Derby
It is never too late to try something new.
Just ask Carl-Gustav Andersson in Tierp.
At age 73, he decided to get his trainer's license. Two years later, his horse Guldhagens Prins made it to the Derby.
"I have no prior experience in training trotters; I have mostly just trained the way I thought was right".
At first, he was a farmer. He had dairy cows at his farm. He then became a machine operator and bought a taxi after that.
But after 28 years in the car, Carl-Gustav Andersson wanted to try something new. As a 73-year-old, he bought a trotter and got his trainer's license.
"Yes, I was just looking for a horse to keep our riding horse company. I thought a coldblooded trotter would be good; I have always been interested in trotters but never worked with them. I called many and ended up with this one, I thought he looked nice, and as far as I could see, he moved well. We brought him home and started training him," says "Calle" when we get to talk to the Gävle licensed amateur trainer.
The horse is 1 Guldhagens Pirat (V86-7).
On Wednesday, he is one of the finalists in the Swedish Coldblood Derby – the biggest stake for coldblooded trotters.
The 75-year-old Carl Gustav is now, as he says, "always free" and with two empty hands as a newcomer, he has developed one of the best 4-year-old coldblooded trotters in the country.
"I thought I would be able to do this full time at first, but had to go back to being a taxi driver one winter, so we took the horse to the racetrack for a couple of months, but after that, he has trained here at home. It's a lot of fun. I have no prior experience in training horses; I have mostly just trained the way I thought was right," he says and continues:
"We can talk about how there is no uphill here and I don't have a sand track either, I train on the gravel roads. But on the other hand, I can train as much as I want. People always ask me: How much do you train? Well, I can train all day if I want, but I don't know if that's what's best for the horse. Anyway, he thinks it's fun and seems to enjoy himself".
A horse who does not like downtime
On Wednesday, "Calle" and Guldhagens Prins leave the little town of Tierp, situated between Gävle and Uppsala, to make the trip to Östersund.
The Swedish Coldblood Derby is the obvious feature of the night when the STL Summer Tour makes a stop in the heart of Jämtland. Another jackpot is in play this week, after the canceled payout for six winners picked in Visby last week, and approximately SEK 13 million awaits a sole winner with all eight winners picked.
Guldhagens Prins comes into the final after a surprise win in his elimination.
"He came out of the elimination race well and is in incredible form, the way it feels. I trained him last Thursday and he felt great, then we will see how far that takes him in the final. He has gotten safer, he used to make breaks easily, and even if he gets back trotting pretty fast, he loses important meters. But now, he has a cleaner gait".
The horse started his career by winning his first four starts, but last time out was his first win of the year. Have you tried to get him in top form for this race?
"I think he has been good all the time, but has made some of those breaks, he has been in bad spots, and also been interfered with at times. Things like that. But he has taken steps all the time and I think he's better now than before. He has trained really well and is happy and alert. He's a nice horse to be around since he's always in a good mood".
Now it is only two weeks between elimination and final. So, just easy training in between starts?
"Well, that's a little bit of his problem, he doesn't want to take it slow. I don't want to be fighting with him all the time, either, so last time I trained him he trotted a bit faster than I wanted, so I had to go a bit shorter instead. But now he will just jog up until Wednesday".
"I wouldn't swap horses with anyone"
In the Derby final, Guldhagens Prins gets Magnus A Djuse in the sulky for the first time. The country's reigning driving champion takes over the reins and will try to win the race at his former home track for the first time.
Together, they will start from post position one behind the gate.
"That's what we got. I got to pick second, Tjomsland drew ball number one and picked post two, which is the post I would have picked. So, I had to choose between one or three and I think he has gotten better at leaving and he should get a trip near the front end. I don't know if he should go in the lead and if they come at him too hard, it might be better to let someone go. They can go pretty tough in these finals, from what I have seen...but all that is up to Magnus, I don't have much experience in that area, but I can tell him a bit about the horse, at least".
So, what do you think, can Guldhagens Prins go all the way?
"He is very tough, but I don't know if he can win. But, as I said, if he is not too far behind at the top of the stretch, he is pretty tough at the end. But Overvik Prinsen is good. Re Alkapital and Frivoll Gorm are good too. Well, all of them are good, actually".
But IF he wins, what happens then?
"I don't know what happens...you have to be realistic, normally he won't beat the best ones. They have better training conditions and all that. But I will say as others do when they want to be a bit cocky; I wouldn't swap horses with anyone," says Carl-Gustav Andersson, who has some exciting plans for the future.
A driving debut does not seem out of reach.
"I bought a warmblood, a 4-year-old, because they want you to have a warmblood for the driving classes. I was thinking it would be fun to have a driving license, not to drive Guldhagnes Prins, but it would be fun. But it took time and they postponed the classes for a while, but I think it's happening this fall. I have done eight, or nine of those schooling races. I might not be much of a driver, you have to be alert, quick-minded, and able to see and hear well. I can be, but it's a bit different when you're older..."