V85 (Saturday): Simb Rooney gives his trainer hopes of his first V85 victory
It all started with show jumper Nils Strid Svensson being asked to help out with the difficult-to-handle Simb Rooney.
Two years later, there are more trotting horses than riding horses in the stable, and now that very same Simb Rooney could become his first winner on V85.
"It sounds ridiculous, but it wouldn’t matter what anyone offered, I would never sell him. He is very special."
Nils Strid Svensson, 27, is an amateur licensed trainer at Axevalla and currently has twelve horses on his training list.
That may not sound remarkable at first glance, but the fact is that he more or less became a trotting trainer by chance just over two years ago.
Horses, of course, were nothing new. Nils is an accomplished show jumper. But in 2023, he was given the chance to take care of the then unraced – and difficult – 1 Simb Rooney (V86-7).
"Yes, it’s such a funny story. You couldn’t drive him at all, so I had to ride him for six months first before it was possible to do anything. Then it kind of turned into me getting several horses you could call hopeless, horses that couldn’t be driven, and I rode them for a few months to educate them that way first. I honestly don’t know how others do it when they get horses like that... If you can get them working from the back and ride dressage, it becomes easier to drive them later," says Nils when we catch up with him for a chat on Monday.
How can you use your previous experience with trotting horses, do you train them differently?
"I don’t have a single horse that grabs on a line, at least you could say that. I’m very meticulous in training; when they jog, they have to be straight and the horses have to work the right way. Everything has to be connected. So yes, you can be a bit picky about the small details, like making sure the horses never pull in the turns when they train and things like that. But then it’s not, as many people think, that I only ride dressage in the arena with the horses, even if I do that as well. You learn that trotting horses have to be trained properly and they get their intervals twice a week as they should. But as I said, I think horses should work more evenly on both sides; you are meticulous with riding horses and I am with the trotting horses as well."
More trotters than riding horses in the stable
After Simb Rooney arrived as the first trotting horse in the stable, more have followed.
There are now twelve trotting horses in the barn, nine wins in 2025, and the trainer himself has even taken his first driving win.
"At the moment, there are actually more trotters than riding horses. I have twelve trotters in the stable and I think nine riding horses right now. Otherwise, the idea is for it to be fifty-fifty."
Simb Rooney is the latest winner. The day before Christmas Eve, he disarmed his opponents with an impressive finish at Åby.
"He was really good last time. In the race before that, we gambled with the volt start, but that wasn’t his thing, he didn’t take a single trotting step from the start... But before that, he showed very good form when he came from behind at Eskilstuna and probably had the fastest stretch of all, he was very good," says the trainer, before looking ahead to Saturday’s start at Jägersro in a Class 1 leg in the first V85 card in 2026:
"I mean, he feels really good. It feels like he is in very good form now, and actually he has been for quite a long time, so everything is fine going into Saturday. He races just as well with shoes as barefoot, even if he may not be quite as quick from the start with shoes on."
Needs luck to win
The competition in the Swedish Trotting League is, of course, always tough.
Even though Simb Rooney drew the inside post behind the starting gate, a post position often considered favorable, the trainer believes it will be difficult to reach the lead – but maybe things can still work out.
"He’s not really a horse that goes to the front anyway, he wants to follow cover, that’s better for him, and then he has a very good finish as long as he doesn’t have to move too early. But if he can use his speed the last 500 meters, then he’s really sharp."
Do you have some hopes that he can be in the mix on Saturday?
"Of course it will take a bit of luck. We’ll probably end up second or third on the inside or something like that, and then they’ll have to do the best they can from there. He races well from behind, but against this kind of tough opposition it’s still nice to have a good post position. He’ll need luck, you always do, but if it works out, he could win because you can feel that he’s in good form."
As your first horse in training, Simb Rooney must be close to your heart?
"Yes, it sounds ridiculous, but it wouldn’t matter what anyone offered, I would never sell him. And I’ve worked a lot with riding horses, and you sell them as long as you get paid enough... but Simb Rooney is special. He is very special, really."
A first training win on V85 with him would therefore be perfect?
"That would be so darn nice! You really want to be able to compete in these races, not just take part, even though you know it’s tough. But as I said, the horse feels good and is in good form," says Nils Strid Svensson.