V86®: Irri goes all in

Fast starters make for intriguing long shots.
Jonna Irri is heading to Boden and V86 with an aggressive game plan.
"The horses are in good form and we're going to try some new equipment changes, so even though they aren't among the favorites, I'd like to see my horses driven in the lead," says the successful trainer who has taken northern Sweden by storm.

At the end of 2024, Jonna Irri left Solvalla for Umåker.
It was an immediate success.
Last year, she more than quadrupled the number of wins for her stable to 47 and earned just over SEK 3 million, more than twice as much as the year before.
As if that wasn't enough, she won the training title at her new home track.
Things haven't gone quite as well in 2026.
She recently passed SEK 2 million in earnings, but her winning percentage has been lower.
"Yes, we've had a lot of second-place finishes instead, and that gets a little disappointing. You want to win races. Otherwise, there's still a chance to earn as much money as we did last year. I hope the fall and winter will be a little better, when the competition gets a little easier. And the stable is in good form right now, I have to say," says Irri, who is making a temporary visit to her mother Tuija Irri, a former professional trainer in her native country.
"I'm going to start Margaritaz in Finland's equivalent of the Stochampionatet, so I've brought the horse here to prepare her."
Why hasn't the stable won as many races this year?
"It's probably mostly because the horses earned a lot of money last year and moved up in class. We haven't brought in that many new horses, so it's pretty much the same group as last year, and when they face tougher competition, it's harder to win. I'm not unhappy with how the horses have raced; I just would have liked a little more luck on our side so that we could have had more wins."

First time with pullout earplugs
A look at the stable's results confirms the picture.
Last year, there were 47 wins and 26 second-place finishes from 231 starts.
Heading into Wednesday's races at Boden, the stable has made exactly 231 starts this year, with 19 wins and 39 second-place finishes.
The question is whether they can improve their winning percentage on Wednesday, when Boden shares the card with Åby and hosts high-class Breeders' Crown races?
One horse competing in her regular class is 6 Pearl Silvio (V86-4), who is coming off a wire-to-wire win against easier opposition.
"Sure, it was a lower-class race, so maybe it didn't tell us that much, but we were very happy with how she behaved. She can easily get worked up, but this time she stayed calm and won with plenty left in the tank. She had a training period leading up to that race and hadn't gone any faster speeds at all, so I'm sure she'll improve significantly for this race. As things feel right now, she hasn't been in better form since she came to us in the spring."
Pearl Silvio has shown speed from the start throughout her career and has been driven in the lead eight times, with three wins and four second-place finishes. The only time she has raced there over a sprint distance was in her most recent start.
"Now that it's a short distance again, I absolutely want to see her in the lead, although of course it's always up to the driver to decide. A lot depends on the horse's mood. Sometimes she gets too eager, and then there's also some risk of breaking stride, but we've trained to make her calmer and I think we're on the right track. There's a lot of ability in this horse; we just need to get it out of her."
Do you think she has enough ability to win this race?
"Yes, I definitely think so. We're also going to try pullout earplugs for the first time, to see if we can find another gear. Otherwise, she'll race in a pull-down bridle and with shoes all around, as last time."
Three-year-old 9 Iron Cloud will have to battle some tough fillies in V86-6.
"I think she's an interesting horse for the future, so I'd really like to see how she measures up against this kind of competition. She was very lazy in her first few starts and had no idea what she was supposed to do, just jogging along with the others. Lately, she's started to understand what racing is about, and last time it actually became too much when we put on a blind bridle. She got extremely fired up and probably ran almost an entire race between the parade and the start. Considering that, I thought the horse did really well to finish fourth. Now we're switching to a pull-down bridle and putting on a pull net in the hope that she'll be calm and manageable. Obviously, the competition is too tough for her to win, but I wouldn't be surprised if she could sneak along and earn some good money," says Jonna Irri.

Pulling the shoes and adding goggles
Tougher competition than usual also awaits one-year-older 2 This Love (V86-8), who has put together a string of second-place finishes during the summer.
"Yes, it's been frustrating. She's turned in a lot of really good races and is definitely deserving of a win. I think she keeps developing all the time, and this time I'd really like to see her in the lead because I think she's at her very best in that position."
Why do you think that?
"Because of the way she behaves in training. She always responds when someone comes from behind, she really likes being in front, so it would be fun to see her there in a race."
In fact, This Love has only raced in the lead once, in November last year, when she also won.
She has taken the lead several times since then, but on those occasions the drivers have chosen to give up the lead.
A tactic that would seem logical on Wednesday as well, when she faces accomplished competitors and will not be among the favorites.
"I'm well aware of that and I'm a realist, so I understand that it will be difficult to win the race. But I would still really like to see her in the lead once. To make her even quicker from the start, we're going to replace the blind bridle and race with goggles for the first time. We're also taking off her hind shoes. She's had some hoof problems, but now I've gotten the go-ahead from my farrier and partner (Taneli Säde) that she's ready to go barefoot again. So we're stretching the limits this time to get a clear indication of how good she really is."
"That applies to all the horses, by the way, so it's going to be an exciting evening," says Jonna Irri.

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