V86®: Rönningsgutten on the right path
Rönningsgutten is Niclas Torstemo's second best coldblood trotter after Pydin.
On Wednesday, the daughter and caretaker Maja travels with the horse to Solvalla, when the boss himself is busy racing in Sundsvall.
"He's a very tough and good horse" says Niclas.
On Solvalla's racecard for Wednesday we find Centaur's race (V86-2) for coldbloods with lifetime earnings up to SEK 1.4 million.
Rönningsgutten with SEK 751,000 in earnings starts from the starting distance in this handicap and Jorma Kontio will try to help the seven-year-old hold off the horses starting 20 meters behind them.
Niclas Torstemo knows little about the three Norwegian horses on the starting distance.
"They have many starting points, but I don't know what type of horses they are. The long distance 2,640 meters, suits our horse well and in his last start, he showed that his form is very good. Post five in volt start worries me a bit more" says the Hagmyren licensed trainer.
Rönningsgutten surprised the bettors in his seasonal debut at Romme two starts ago. Starting with a 20-meter handicap, Jorma Kontio made an early move to the lead and won easily at the odds of 16-1.
Maja Torstemo works as a caretaker in the stable and took care of 'Gutten' after the race. On Wednesday, she takes care of everything herself when he starts at Solvalla.
"Maja works in the stable in her spare time and on weekends and she also takes care of Pydin. She works as a kindergarten teacher and has Wednesday off, as she has to go with the horse to Solvalla. She gets a ride with Jan-Olov Persson, who has a horse in the same race. I have to go to Bergsåker to race two horses" says Niclas Torstemo.
Has found the speed
The star of the stable Pydin surpassed SEK 3 million in earnings at the end of last year. This year started with a second-place finish in Bollnäs, but in the next start pretty much everything went wrong at Bergsåker and he made a break.
The four years younger Rönningsgutten has a bit left to go before he reaches the same level as Pydin. He has taken several steps forward this year though and he was very good when he won his seasonal debut at Romme. Rönningsgutten finished third in Centaur's race last year and he is a better horse this year. At least, that is what Niclas Torstemo hopes and thinks.
"Rönningsgutten is the old type of coldblood trotter. He has an old pedigree and he was very late to get going. He has always been strong but has lacked the speed and the right attitude, and that's what he has learned now".
The first two racing seasons when the horse was three and four years old were just a long period of learning. In the last two seasons, 2021 and 2022, the horse has gotten things together and also started showing results.
Treated in a knee
After having raced badly once last fall, the horse had to qualify due to his bad performance.
"He derailed there for a while after having raced well for a long period of time and he just didn't function well. We thought a lot about it and maybe we looked at the wrong end of things. Just before Christmas we found something that was bothering him and considering his first start back at Romme, we could be on the right path" says Torstemo.
You were looking at the wrong end of things, you said?
"We started looking if there was something wrong with his throat. Then we found out that he was lame in a knee, which he didn't show us before. When we treated that knee, he raced well in his last start and has felt good after that too. He felt good before too, but didn't have that bounce in his stride".
Kontio must have felt that he was a new horse last time out and chose to drive him again on Wednesday?
"Yes, but it was surprising that he was that good right away. He was very solid. Sure, it was a cheaper race than the one he is in this week, but he did it in a very good way. When everything works out, he's a very tough and good horse. Now that he has learned to speed, he should do pretty well going forward".
Maybe racing him barefoot made a difference too?
"The fact that he didn't race well barefoot last year, was not because he didn’t have enough weight. He just wasn't ready for it. He will race barefoot again this Wednesday if the track allows it. He feels like a typical barefoot horse. Post five in volt start is a disadvantage, but if he just gets a decent start and doesn't have to work too hard early, he should have a pretty good chance to win".