V85®: The stable lights up in the winter
The shoes are nailed on.
The lights are turned on.
Now begins Sofia Aronsson Hofstedt’s best time of year.
"I’ve been aiming for this Saturday, and it looks exciting," says the winter specialist, who has a brilliant explanation for her success.
Some stables do exceptionally well in winter.
For Sofia Aronsson Hofstedt, the results speak clearly.
She raises her win percentage and is one of the country’s most valuable trainers to follow during the barefoot ban that applies on Swedish harness-racing tracks from December to February.
Looking at ROI (Return On Investment), Aronsson Hofstedt is one of the most profitable trainers in the country to follow during the winter months.
Measured since the winter of 2017–2018, the stable has made 388 winter starts on Swedish tracks, winning 66 of them with a total return of 105 percent.
That means that someone who played SEK 100 to win every time the stable started a horse during the barefoot ban has made a net profit of about SEK 2,000.
Among trainers who have made more starts during this period, only three in the entire country can boast a higher winter ROI (Markus Pihlström 119, Claes Sjöström 109, and Daniel Wäjersten 106).
You can also simply look at the win percentage, where Aronsson Hofstedt has 17 during the winter, 12 during spring (March–May), 13 during summer (June–August), and 14 during fall (September–November).
So it’s no exaggeration to say that the stable’s time begins now.
Part of the explanation, she believes, comes from the environment at home on the farm – and from the lighting in the stable.
"I’m extremely particular about the light. We’ve invested a lot of money in LED lighting in the stable, because I think it’s important. It’s called ‘clear daylight’ and is meant to mimic a bright summer’s day. And we don’t slack with the timing either – we make sure the lights stay on until 22:00 every day."
Why is the light important?
"Firstly, it’s so the horses don’t grow too much winter coat. But I think they feel good from it too. It’s like with people – if it’s dark most of the time, it can affect the mood. Many people have actually asked how my horses can have such nice coats with dapples even in mid-winter, and I believe the light is the biggest reason."
So is that why you get better results in winter than in other seasons?
"I don’t know, it could be a million things. Like that we have dry paddocks when others have problems. Or that my horses eat too much grass in the summer. Or that they simply don’t stack up against the very best. But I do think the lighting in the stable is part of it anyway," says Sofia Aronsson Hofstedt.
"Strongly favored by the distance"
Another detail speaking for the stable’s horses on Saturday is that all of them are used to racing with shoes, something all competitors must do when V85® comes to Åby.
In V85-1, they send out two three-year-olds, with 6 Cabin Pressure being the least experienced, having only six starts. In those, he has two wins and two breaks.
"He’s a very nice horse who has basically done everything right. The breaks have been because he’s interfered with himself at the start, both in the debut and last time. He’s not unsafe by nature; it has just become a bit much for him when he’s supposed to get going," says Aronsson Hofstedt, who will therefore adjust the shoeing in front.
"He has raced with regular steel shoes; now we’ll take some weight off in front and put aluminums on instead to avoid him hitting himself. Otherwise, we go as before with an open bridle and a long overcheck. There are many changes to make in the future, and I think he’s a horse with good development in him. He’s tall and lanky and still quite a young horse in his body, which is why I haven’t wanted to race him too tightly. Unfortunately, the break meant he didn’t get a proper tightener last time; it might have been needed, but I think his form is similar to the wins in the fall season anyway."
"The post position should be only beneficial. The break in the debut was more about a lack of experience. He has won both times from the lead and is unbeaten there, so I would very much like to see him in the lead again."
8 Chippen Dee comes off a fourth place in V85.
"He was good then. He’s a slightly more grinding type who can lose some ground when the pace shifts, but when the pace is steady, he’s very comfortable. He trained a bit tougher today (Monday) and felt alert, happy, and just like before Jägersro. We’re not making any changes on him."
How do you compare these two horses?
"It’s tough. Chippen has a bit more toughness, while Cabin is probably the better one fundamentally, so I think he should take more money from the bettors from these posts. But I want to warn that the longer distance should strongly favor Chippen."
"Full of confidence and really tries"
6 Staro Raili (V85-5) comes off two impressive finishes, the latest one enough for victory.
"Yes, she has really found her form again. We trained her hard today as well, and it’s clear she’s in top form now. It’s possible she could do the hard work herself when she’s like this, but some days she doesn’t handle that, so I prefer that she gets a similar stalking trip. If so, she’ll finish very fast. The fact that the competitors must race with shoes is, of course, a plus for us," says Aronsson Hofstedt, who finishes with another form horse in 3 Luck Is For Losers (V85-8), who won the closing-pack sprint in that V85 race where Tactic Lane was allowed to trot his own race in the lead.
"She lost a lot of ground initially because the horse in front of her more or less stood still at the start, and she ended up among the handicap horses immediately. Considering that, she raced really well."
"She has always been a very nice trotter, but has disappointed me many times and acted a bit like a herd animal for a long time. But at the end of the summer, she started to respond. We changed the training and tested earplugs. Then we also put on a pull-down bridle for four starts, and it was like we suddenly got a new communication path with her, like she finally understood what she was supposed to do. Now she’s full of confidence and really tries in her races."
Could it be time to try her in the lead this time?
"If she gets there, then absolutely. She was in the lead a couple of times early in her career before she knew what she was doing, but when she got the pull-down bridle at Eskilstuna, she crushed the leader and just drew away. So now I think she’s ready to race there. She trained today too and showed all signs that the form is intact."
Who do you believe in the most?
"I don’t know, I’m not well enough read on the opposition. I believe in all my horses. If everything works out perfectly with the trips, I think any one of them is good enough to win. We need a bit of luck along the way, but the feeling in the stable is very good," says Sofia Aronsson Hofstedt.