V86®: "She is pretty good for this class"
Preben Søvik started as a professional trainer six months ago.
On Wednesday he has Galaxie du Try racing on V86® and the poster girl of the stable is looking for her fourth win of the year.
"I think she has a decent chance, she is pretty good for this class" says the Jägersro trainer.
Preben Søvik was born into harness racing. His dad Lars Magne Søvik is a trainer in Norway and harness racing was a given for the 30-year-old. Already as a 16-year-old, he left home to join the trotting program at Wången high school in Östersund.
"I grew up fast and it was a useful experience to move away from home early" says Preben Søvik.
After having graduated from Wången he flew across the Atlantic Ocean to go work for Trond Smedshammer. After over a year in the United States, he moved to Sweden and ended up working for Lutfi Kolgjini where they put a lot of trust in him and he got to travel around Europe quite a bit.
"It was a very useful experience to get to travel and I learned a lot. Kolgjini had lots of success, especially with the younger horses".
After four years at the Kolgjini stable, he took the job as an assistant trainer for Robert Bergh and moved to Gothenburg.
"I learned a lot from Robert too and both him and Lutfi are two very good horsemen who are also very nice to work for" Preben says.
13 horses in the stable
Søvik stayed in Gothenburg for two years before he decided to move back down south, this time to work for Ola Samuelsson.
"The thoughts of starting up my own stable became more and more serious and after a year and a half with Ola, I chose to do so and it feels very good".
Preben trains 13 horses today and he is stabled at Jägersro racetrack in Malmö.
"I have a good mix of younger and older horses. I have a couple of nice three-year-olds who soon are ready to hit the racetrack and that will be exciting. Jägersro has very good training opportunities and I train each horse individually and I think it's fun and inspiring to get up in the morning and go to work, I really like the way my life is now".
The stable has three wins so far Galaxie du Try (V86-5) has won all those three races.
"She is good now and she keeps getting better and better. I got her in February and she has improved the entire time. She probably could have won another race or two but I've entered her in tougher classes to get more speed and toughness into her. Galaxie du Try has been very good in her last two starts and she has simply gotten quicker".
What are your thoughts on the Wednesday start?
"It's the toughest race she's been in so far. A couple of the opponents are good but at the same time, Galaxie du Try is up and coming and she is pretty good for this class. With some racing luck, I wouldn't be surprised if she ends up battling for the win".