V86®: Ackuratess won't be overlooked again
In November, she won the Solvalla Series at odds of 62-1.
The Gävle mare Ackuratess then finished like a lightning bolt on Christmas Eve at Örebro and comes into Wednesday’s V86® at Solvalla far better known to the public.
"Without sticking my neck out too far, I think she should be able to finish top three, considering all the good efforts she has delivered," says amateur trainer Anders Odelros.
Solvalla shares this week’s V86® with Bjerke in Oslo, where the final leg at the capital track is a condition handicap over 1,640 meters.
Anders Odelros makes the drive from the small community of Hedesunda outside Gävle, provided the forests have been cleared, and no new storms have swept through the area.
"We’ve only had four to five decimeters of snow, not as much as closer to the coast. But the worst part is that we might not get anywhere anyway because of the wind. It’s calm right now, and we just have to hope they manage to clear the forests. Trees can still fall; they’re swaying a bit everywhere," says Hedesunda resident Anders Odelros.
Horses and trot races have been a natural part of the Gävle licensed amateur trainer's life since childhood. Now retired for a few years, horses are no longer just a pastime but a somewhat larger occupation.
The star of the stable (the only horse in the stable!), the eight-year-old mare 6 Ackuratess (V86-8), may soon be joined by a younger talent. Her dam Lina Liv is in foal to Maharajah.
Odelros has had all the horses on Ackuratess’ maternal side. It has been mares such as Eva Jaquette and Jaga Jill, up to today’s Lina Liv, who earned SEK 763,000 during her career.
"I’ve been doing this for a very long time. If you’re going to get any joy out of living in the countryside the way we do, then you want to use the little stable you have and keep horses. Mattias Hansson (a professional at Gävle) has taken over a brother to Ackuratess that I can’t quite get right. We’ll see if he can sort him out," says Anders Odelros.
Three wins at Solvalla
The Wednesday starter Ackuratess has picked up eight wins from 29 career starts, three of them at the capital track Solvalla.
On Christmas Eve at Örebro, she once again flew low in a race included in the new betting product V85®. Twigs Khaleesi won as a heavy favorite for Ulf Ohlsson, who controlled proceedings from the front but had to work hard over the final 100 meters to avoid being caught by the Gävle mare’s sizzling finish.
Anders Odelros and driver Mattias Hansson were optimistic beforehand, despite the poor starting position.
"We felt she could win at Örebro as well and had prepared for that race for a long time. But Ohlsson got to dictate the tempo in the lead; nobody challenged him, and there was no pace at all. Then it’s impossible to catch anything. But she did well again," says Odelros.
At Solvalla in mid-December, she finished fourth with plenty left in her tank, and in the Solvalla Series in mid-November, she scored that win while being completely overlooked by the bettors.
That time, Ackuratess had to do all the work herself three-wide through the final turn and won easily at 62-1. The winning time was a fine 1:11.6 over 1,640 meters.
"We liked her a lot for that start as well, but nobody asked us! She’s been good for quite a while. Ever since the summer, she has delivered incredible performances," says the trainer.
Do you think the form will still be there on Wednesday?
"She’s just as good. She’s been racing for a long time and is very well conditioned. The only thing now is that she has skipped one workout, but that shouldn’t matter too much."
Ackuratess is versatile but is often good in the lead. Do you have any other plan?
"I’d like to see her in the lead. It’s 1,600 meters, and she’s a bit closer to the pylons behind the gate. The toughest rivals have worse post positions. But of course, both Timo Nurmos and Mattias Djuse have to be respected; they have really good horses as well. The front would be ideal. She’s quite quick from the start if you let her go. Yes, that’s plan A at least."
So no other clouds in the sky apart from fallen trees possibly blocking the road to the track?
"I don’t know how it will be with corks and track conditions in Stockholm. If I can take the corks off in front, which is usually the case at Solvalla, then it’s fine. She has only raced twice with corks all around, and that didn’t go very well. Solvalla usually has a good track, though – they scrape it off, add gravel, and it ends up like a summer track on top. She races with heavy-grip shoes behind all year round, but in front she needs to have her regular shoes," says Anders Odelros.