V86® (jackpot): Does not trust his horse
Underbarosåfin is one of the most special horses that Henrik Svensson has trained.
The chestnut gelding comes off a V75 win in Class 1 and will be heavily used on Wednesday.
Svensson says to not put too much trust in the six-year-old in V86 at Bergsåker.
"He has been a bit temperamental lately in training. Whatever happens, happens".
Bergsåker co-hosts V86 together with Solvalla this Wednesday when a jackpot adds another SEK 15 million to the pool.
In V86-5, 8 Underbarosåfin fits the class perfectly with his lifetime earnings of SEK 594,000 as the class is closed at SEK 600,000.
But the post position could be better. From post eight behind the gate, it looks like Henrik Svensson could get into some traffic trouble. Underbarosåfin is quick out of the gate and has enough speed to make it to the lead.
But since the horse has not been mentally stable lately, Henrik is looking at a more defensive tactic.
"He is very special and right now he is in one of those phases again. It has almost been impossible to train him at home" says the Bergsåker trainer.
The last time Underbarosåfin raced was in a Class 1 V75 race at Bergsåker on December 3. The six-year-old was manageable that day and Svensson left with him and also took the lead. Robert Bergh sat on his back with L.L. Labero and came close, but Underbarosåfin held on to win.
"It was good of him to win after a little layoff. He likes racing with shoes and hard tracks are no problem for him. But he gets more temperamental this time of the year. He is extra hard to work with during the winter for some reason. He gets hot and pulls way too much. We have been able to keep it under control for some time, but sometimes it comes up to the surface" says Henrik Svensson.
Skipped the finals on Boxing Day
Svensson skipped the V75 finals at Solvalla on Boxing Day as the six-year-old simply was not in mental balance.
When he now starts on V86, the expectations are fairly low.
"Of course, he can win but I won't leave with him this time. Whatever happens, happens. My plan is to give him a nice trip and let him close instead. I don't think he should be viewed as a hot win candidate this time".
Underbarosåfin – capable but tricky. Is that how to sum it up?
"Sort of. He has acted strange. We haven't been able to train or jog him at home, so we have just towed him. Meaning he hasn't had any equipment on, just been following in a lunge line behind another horse".
As a trainer, your earnings in 2022 were just over SEK 2 million, and as a driver, SEK 5.2 million. What do you think of those numbers?
"I thought they were good, both for my stable as well as for me as a driver. But my plan is to better those results this year. We have 26 horses in training now and there is room for more. But we are also happy where we are now".