V86®: Norwegian trainer Brenne making the trip to Solvalla
The horse has won three times on V75® in Norway since New Year's.
On Wednesday, the Momarken trainer Jens Kristian Brenne comes to Solvalla to race on V86® with Garth Vader who is in top form.
"It looks like most pieces have fallen into place for the horse now as a six-year-old" says Brenne, who has made almost NOK 600,000 in 'Vinterserien' in Norway.
Jens Kristian Brenne, 39 trains at Momarken racetrack in Mysen, which is located between Olso and the Swedish border in Norway.
In the winter of 2023, the second season of 'Vinterserien' in Norway, Brenne has been very successful and has made almost NOK 600,000 with his horses.
During the finale at Bjerke on the first Saturday of March, he took a double in the finals with the coldblood Brenne Rön and the six-year-old warmblood stallion Garth Vader.
That was Garth Vader's third win on V75 in Norway this year.
"It was nice that he got to win the final, he is really good right now" says Brenne who is making the trip to Solvalla with his horse on Wednesday.
V86-4 is a nine-horse field over 2,140 meters behind the gate. Garth Vader starts from the inside post position with the stable's number two driver Erlend Rennesvik.
Jens Kristian Brenne does not drive a lot himself. He has two regular drivers on his horses and Åsbjörn Tengsared has driven at two of the stable's biggest victories. The Swedish Coldblood Kriterium in 2021 with Brenne Odin and last summer he won The Coldblood Kriteium for filles with Suså Ö.K.
Erlend Rennesvik has driven Garth Vader at his wins this past winter and he also drives the horse on Wednesday.
"Tengsared is my number one driver and Erlend is a good number two driver who has done well with Garth Vader and others".
Fourth in the Norwegian Derby
The six-year-old Garth Vader finished fourth in the Norwegian Derby for Sverre Risa and came to the Brenne stable in 2022.
There have been a lot of breaks in the past, but the horse seems to be more stable now.
"Last summer he had a lot of unlucky bounces in the races and he also kept making silly breaks. He has had some mental challenges but now as he gets older, it looks like most pieces have fallen into place. Garth Vader has been stable and good this past winter" says Jens Kristian Brenne, who trains 25 horses.
"Proves that you have a good horse"
The win in the V75 finals at Bjerke on March 4 is something that the trainer is especially happy with.
Garth Vader was the post time favorite and beat a horse trained by many-time national champion Frode Hamre, despite trotting on the outside.
"Take This Society was in the lead but Garth Vader beat him on the outside the last 700 meters. He slowed up a bit when he was first down the stretch and he didn't win by a lot. But it looked safe, he wasn't tired and won in a good way in 1:13.4".
"When you beat a Frode Hamre-trained horse despite being on the outside it proves that you have a good horse. When there's money on the line, Hamre's horses usually win these races" says the Momarken trainer.
What are your hopes for Garth Vader going forward?
"He's a horse that I'm sure will do in the open class here in Norway, at least in the winter. The fact that he can do some work himself is an advantage in the open class, where many are older and don't want to do too much hard work anymore. Last summer, he trotted 1:10.7 parked out at Biri, so he is pretty quick too".
He has won three starts coming from behind this past winter. How do you think he will fare from the inside post at Solvalla?
"We haven't left with him in a long time. He won at Momarken from the lead back in August and that was the last time we left with him. He has made breaks into the first turn when he has been out wide so starting from the inside on Wednesday is an advantage. If they leave really fast, which they often do, it's better for him to be able to go straight ahead".
Do you know anything about the opponents?
"No, and that's the hard part when we come over here. I don't know the other horses at all. But our horse can leave pretty fast".
He seems to be in good form, though?
"It's on its way up. He has not been in top form in any way this past winter, despite having raced so well. He has raced with shoes and corks all winter and he hasn't trained very hard. So, there's a bit more we can do with him this summer. I hope we can pull all his shoes on Wednesday".