V86® (jackpot): Gorm an odd bird in the Båth stable
Five year old Gorm steps over SEK 1 million in lifetime earnings if he wins on Wedneday.
What's odd about it is that he's a coldblood trained by Svante Båth.
Gorm is the only coldblood out of 133 horses in training with one of the country's leading trainers.
"He has the potential to go all the way up to the coldblood elite with some luck along the way".
Coldblooded trotters are something Svante Båth is not associated with.
Yet he was licensed at one of the northenmost tracks in Sweden up until just a few years ago.
Coldbloods haven't been a natural part of the Båth stable. Only a few have passed through the doors over the years.
Gorm from the 2016 crop is very promising however and he is also the best coldblood the Solvalla licensed trainer has ever trained.
"That reason I never got into coldbloods has to do with the fact that I went to Ireland and trained horses there for some years. I simply didn't get in touch with people who were interested in coldbloods then".
"It also wasn't easy competing with trainers who are very good at coldbloods. They were never naturally drawn to me, when you had to compete wtih Jan-Olov Persson, Alf Jonsson, Lasse Lindberg to name a few very good coldblood trainers" he says.
Båth mentions the coldblood Åkres Lavin, a horse he got in training 'a hundred years ago' when the horse was in the middle of his racing career. Åkres Lavin stayed for a short while and had three consecutive wins. J.K. Lucas was another talented horse.
"He was actually a very nice horse who only made two or three starts for me. I did feel that he was a very good coldblood though. But he was very study and rowdy so I suggested to the owners that he would be better off at their own smaller stable in Östersund" Svante Båth says.
"Trains with the warmbloods"
On Wednesday Gorm (V86-5) will be one of the favorites at Båth's old hometrack Bergsåker in Sundsvall.
A little 'meatball' type of horse who loves to train at Stora Alby.
"Yes, it's very rewarding to work with this horse. We only have warmbloods in training, so he trains with them. And he does it with ease! He is happy and alert and he wants to go. Gorm is one of many coldbloods today with a nice, clean gait. Not like they used to be back in the day" Svante says.
Norway a blot
Gorm came in to the Båth stable in the fall as a yearling and as a three year old he made it to the final of the Swedish Kriterium where he did not get a check. As a four year old he made a break in the elimination to the Norwegian Derby, came back to finsih third, just to make a break and get disqualified in the final.
They want to forget about the starts in Norway. Gorm is normally safe.
He has progressed steadily and never been sharpened for any certain race.
"Axel Sigfrid came at the same time and he was very early but I said the entire time that Gorm was the better horse" the trainer says.
Axel Sigfrid had four consecutive wins for a while as a three year old. Last summer he was sold to Kenneth Haugstad's owners.
Peter and Camilla Vikström (Countess AB in Luleå) were the owners who put the two coldbloods in training with Svante Båth.
Had you been a bit cocky there?
"No, I had just said jokingly that I don't care if I train warmbloods or coldblodds as long as they can qualify under 1:20. Then Peter Vikström screamed that ‘you are my trainer!’" Svante says laughing.
11 wins in 22 starts and SEK 947,000 in earnings are the numbers so far in Gorm's career. On Wednesday he will be one of the favorites in a sprint race where post position eight behind the gate must disappoint the expactations?
"Starting method and distance don't matter for this horse. Same with the trip. I think that's his biggest asset. Of course it's never fun starting from post position eight behind the gate, it can really screw up a race. Even if it's easy to like these horses who are above average - and this one is good - there's a limit to what they can do too".
He comes with three consecutive wins and he was good in his first start against older horses back in December and he looked as good as usual in his last start when he won easily from the lead at Åby. His form must be good?
"He's been in good form the entire time. I've never tried to top his form, it's just been basic training. He will race with shoes on Wednesday, but I hope we won't need the corks even if he can handle them too".
Could we even get to see Svante Båth's Gorm take on the coldblood elite with Jan-Olov Persson's and Øystein Tjomsland's super stars?
"I wouldn't mind. I think Gorm has potential to be a part of the elite. Like I said, I think he has progressed well. Maybe it's because we only have warmbloods in training - he has to train with them" Svante says a bit jokingly.
He shouldn't be singled but must go on the ticket based on his ability and form?
"Absolutely. That's logical. Gorm is a good horse".
The stable has three more starters on this V86 card, which comes with a jackpot where there's SEK 17 million in the pool for all eight winners picked. 3 Zante Grif (V86-1) is a new horse in your barn who has raced well in Sweden for Dutch trainer Paul J Hagoort.
"She arrived to us just before Christmas and has been thorughly trained for a longer time. She's a sharp lady who pulls a bit and wants to go forward, so I would like to see her get a covered up trip on Wednesday. To start with. Plus I don't really know her yet, so we will take this start as an indication. She has to be judged on her past performances, but she has trained well and she was good in 1:16 at Solvalla a few days ago. She will race with shoes".
3 Haitkin AM (V86-3) is undefeated in six starts and he last raced in October. How is his form when he's now ready to return?
"He was supposed to race at Gävle in January but he hit himself in a front leg and had to rest for a bit. So we sort of had to start over with him. He has always raced better than he trains and he is easy to like because of that. He's not the best looking one out there but he has always dug in and won at the end. We can't demand a win in his seasonal debut but he has never lost a race and of course he should be considered a win candidate. He will race with shoes".
Another horse making his seasonal debut is 5 Gazoline Mearas (V86-7) who had one win in 15 starts last year. What are his chances here?
"This race came out a lot tougher than I thought it would. So it doesn't feel like I can demand a win out of him in this field, even if it feels like he has taken a step forward after this winter's training. He trained very good at Solvalla a few days ago".