V86®: Stumne Fyr in good form as always
Verners lopp will be raced at Solvalla this Wednesday.
The coldblood race included on the V86® card, has attracted several good horses in the open class.
The biggest star of the race is the 10-year-old gelding Stumne Fyr, who comes to Solvalla with three straight wins and always seems to be in good form.
"The secret is probably that he gets to be a horse and do as he wants. "Fyren" is in good form and is a hundred percent sound," says the Norwegian trainer Merete Viksås.
This Wednesday, Solvalla sends off one of very few races for coldbloods of the year. Verners lopp goes as V86-6 with ten horses behind the gate.
The favorite is trained by Merete Viksås, a professional trainer at Biri racetrack in Norway, with 16 horses in training. All coldbloods.
The best horse in her stable and one of the best coldbloods out there is Stumne Fyr. 2023 was the gelding's breakthrough year when he made a name for himself as he won Unionskampen at Färjestad Racetrack.
An upset at 70-1.
"I was so confused that he was at such a high price when he had been so good in his previous starts. He has pretty much been in good form since he was five years old," says Merete.
The gelding has found an extra gear in recent years and has in a short time established himself in the older elite. 13 wins in 25 starts since that win at Färjestad last fall. Stumne Fyr was good when he finished second behind Månlykke A.M. in this year's Unionskampen in September. After that, he was locked in when he raced in the Nordic Championships in Åby, Finland, before he found his way back to the winner's circle to start his current winning streak.
"Østre thinks highly of the horse"
Two weeks ago, he won in splendid isolation after having made it to the lead early at Jarlsberg, in a race for the open class in Norway.
Ole Johan Østre, the horse's regular driver, hand drove the horse to victory in 1:21.8/2,100 meters.
"Østre drives well and he thinks highly of the horse. After the race, he told me that Stumne Fyr was so fresh down the homestretch, that he alomst forgot it was a race and not just training at home. In Gävle, two starts ago, Østre also just hand drove him," says Merete Viksås and fires off one of many laughs throughout this interview.
Has a big field with six mares
She is a breeder of coldblood horses and a professional trainer in the village of Roa, 50 minutes north of Oslo. The farm is located in the country side, which plays a big role in the upkeep of the soon-to-be five-time millionaire.
Stumne Fyr races with shoes all year around. When the tracks get hard going forward, the 10-year-old has an advantage over his competitors since he always has corks in his shoes behind.
"In Jarlsberg he had corks in all four shoes and he will race the same at Solvalla. He races just as well like that as he does with "summer" shoes and he needs that extra grip. He has a big field where he goes out together with six mares and he loves it. He would prefer to stay outside 24/7. That's also a big part of why he races with shoes and corks. When we get home in the middle of the night, he goes straight out in the field and I go straight to bed!" says Merete Viksås.
You looked forward to racing in Elitkampen at the Elitlopp Sunday at Solvalla in May. But that did not go as you hoped?
"No, I had him out in the grass field where he gets turned out in the spring and all summer. It was very warm in Stockholm that day and he doesn't like that. His stomach got messed up. But I think Fyr deserves to get turned out in the grass field and I won't change that. I have to think about what's best for the horse first. He gets so much joy out of that big field, it's worth it all. Normally, he can train, race, and eat that fresh grass at the same time. He loves to train and he pretty much never has a bad day".
On Wednesday, he faces the horses he usually races against. Tekno Jerven, Järvsöodin, Oppgårdsdrängen, and others. How do you like his chances?
"He always races against the best coldbloods out there, it's always tough. Østre has to figure out the right trip, but the horse is in top form and he can win. I would say his form is at 100 percent. If nothing unexpected happens, he will race over the winter as we always do, here at home and in Sweden. I just plan one race at a time and that has worked out well for a long time now".