V86® (jackpot): Future professional trainer Mifsud has two hot contenders
Tyler Mifsud is gaining increasing trust in the sulky, and in a few months, he can call himself a professional trainer.
At Wednesday’s races at his home track he has interesting drives for boss Joakim Lövgren.
"It’s the kind of horse that is ‘love at first sight’," says Tyler about the returning Nasha, who is one of two contenders from the stable on V86®.
The course to become a professional trainer is currently underway at Wången.
One of this year’s candidates is Tyler Mifsud, who is based in Joakim Lövgren’s stable at Jägersro and will be able to call himself a professional trainer from around Elitloppet time this spring.
"Yes, it will be a new chapter for me, and I think it’s nice to get this done now, so it’s ready the day I need the license. The course finishes at the end of May, so sometime in early June I can take out the license, and that will be the next chapter in my life, but it may take a little more time before I actually do that," Tyler says.
The 28-year-old has recently been given greater trust in the sulky and serves as the stable’s first driver.
Something that will continue even after he receives his trainer's license.
"I will stay here, and I think the setup we have now is good. I enjoy the situation we have, but in the future, the plan is for me to have my own stable, and that’s something I’ve said from day one. That’s also a big reason why Joakim gives me this chance, that I get to drive a lot of races and gain more experience, so I can get into the game. You can’t just throw yourself out there, so this is what we’re doing now: I get to drive more races at this level. But say within five or ten years, I will try to become my own trainer."
Didn’t get out – was unused at the finish last time
There is a jackpot on V86® this Wednesday after last week’s easier solution.
SEK 12 million awaits in the pool for all eight winners picked when Solvalla shares the card with Jägersro, and the Lövgren stable sends out two interesting contenders on the card at the home track.
"It could be a good day on Wednesday, and I also feel the stable has really started to roll well lately, so it feels very good," says Tyler.
First up is 3 Unforgettable Tile (V86-3), who has frequently competed on V85 over the past few months.
Most recently, the four-year-old was in a Class 3 final at the capital oval.
"It feels like it has been a pretty good setup for him. We were very upbeat about the horse two starts ago in Kalmar, but unfortunately, we ended up outside the leader, Danville, who looked fantastic that day. For a long time, I felt we could still be second, but it was a tough race for him, and he got tired in the last hundred meters, even though he still held on well. We were pleased with him last time, too, but we had a bad post, and I had to race him along the pylons and rely on luck. We never got out anywhere, but the horse was unused at the finish."
What do you think about Wednesday’s task? It should at least be a slightly easier competition now.
"Yes, this time I think he has a race he can win; in any case, he is one of maybe three horses who can fight it out. He can be quite quick from the start, and he has raced a few times in the lead. I will try to give us a good start, I believe in this horse and think we have a chance to win the race."
Always a queen in the stable for the driver
4 Nasha (V86-5) returns to the races on Wednesday.
The mare has not been seen on the racetrack since late July but should be ready to begin a new racing season.
"Nasha is one of my favorite horses in the stable, so for me she is a queen and I want to try not to be too over-optimistic with her ahead of the comeback… but she is fairly quick from the start and over 1640 meters I think she can get to the lead and if we do, I want to race her there," says the driver, who continues:
"She has been to Jägersro twice ahead of this, and both times, she trained in 1.14 over 1,600 meters and did it quite easily. We have been very pleased with the horse in training. I feel she won’t need a start in her legs, but is ready to race right away. But of course, it's been a few months since she raced, and that’s also why we did two schooling races with her, to get some race speed into her. Both times it was a quick leave, a bit slower middle half, and then a fast last 500. As I said, we have been very pleased with her, and I think she can be a challenger to Kind of Magic F.R. on Wednesday."
She is a failry capable mare?
"I will put it like this, if she hadn’t had some health issues in her career, she would at least have earned twice as much as she has. It’s the kind of horse that is ‘love at first sight’. She made only five starts last year, but among them she won on V75 in early January and went a fast time then. Then she had health problems ahead of the STL finals, so we had to give her a break, and then she had problems again at the start in Halmstad during the Sprint Championship weekend. So there have been some setbacks with her at times, but I think she has very good basic capacity."
Finally, you also drive 7 Staro Steven (V5-4) outside V86. He is coming off a win in an STL final and must have a good chance again?
"He was very good last time and is SEK 250,000 richer after that race, but I think he can hold his own in this class as well. We got post seven here, and there are several quick horses inside us, so we haven’t been helped beforehand. But the boss believes a lot in this horse, and I hope we can get down into a good spot; it’s a short field, and we hope he can beat them in the end with strength and speed instead," Tyler concludes.