By Duane Ranger (courtesy of Redcliffe Paceway)
Swedish-native, Bertil Olsson, says he was well hooked on trotting long before he immigrated to Queensland in 1977, at the age of 29.
“My parents weren’t into the sport, but we were from Stockholm, and I regularly went to the Sovalla track in my teens. You could probably blame top horseman, Sören Nordin, for my love of the sport.
“He was a leading trainer back then, and a master shoer of horses. He knew exactly what weights to put on the horse’s feet, unlike today where they are all natural free-going trotters,” Olsson said.
“There was, and still isn’t, any pacing back home,” he added.
Nordin (1917 – 2008) was a trainer/driver who later started a stable in America, where he won the Hambletonian Oaks and Breeders Crown, twice each. He won 3,221 races in 10 different countries as a driver, winning the Swedish Trotting Derby 11 times, which is still a record.
In 1950, Nordin won the Prix d’Amérique, and then three years later nailed Sweden’s and the world’s premier trotting event – the prestigious Elitloppet at Solvalla.
“He left a big impression on me, and is the major reason I love trotting so much. He was the champion driver at our premier track 21 times,” said Olsson, who attended a dozen Elitloppets while he was residing in Sweden, and then another four as a visitor to his homeland.
“I made the decision to come Australia because I was paying almost half of my wages in tax back home. We paid 17 per cent GST back then, and now it’s 25 per cent. It was tough to get ahead,” said Olsson, who has been a painter and decorator in both countries since he was 16.
But it was a tough 8-year-old pacer, that gave Olsson his latest owner/breeder triumph at Redcliffe Paceway on Sunday night (September 22).
Rock N Roll Heaven bay gelding, Bertil’s Firefox, not only notched up his 25th career win in 187 starts (40 placings) in race five – the Dan Costello Photography NR up to 40 Pace, but is now nearing a track milestone at Redcliffe Paceway, as his Caboolture trainer and driver, John Kerr explains:
“He’s a gutsy old horse, considering his former trainer almost called time on him before he even got to the races. He’s now hunting down the ‘Triangle’ track record of 30 wins, which I think was set by Glenmore Admiral since 1990 (March 2, 1990). I think Ashley Nitro is next best with 29.
“He (Bertil’s Firefox) never stops trying and is a credit to Bertil and his breed. He’s no star because a 1:59 mile-rate is his personal best, but he’s always been a mystery to me. He never stops surprising us. He just keeps giving, and that’s exactly what he did on Sunday,” said Kerr.
Bertil’s Firefox and Kerr drew eight, and they were third last (four back and two out) at the bell, before Kerr asked him for an effort at the 600 metres. They moved up three-wide with no cover from the 600m, and stayed there until the finish – holding off Aqua Cruiser by a nose.
The $3.90 favourite paced the 1,780m mobile in 2:12.6 (mile rate 1:59.9) with 29.3, 31.3, 30.1, and 30.1 sectionals. it was his fifth win in 34 starts this season.
Olsson agreed Bertil’s Firefox, saying he could be a bit lazy, but always tried his heart out in in his races.
“He kept giving from the 700 metres the other night and for a rising 9-year-old that tells me he has still got a big heart and desire to win. The breed has always been tough. He’s now won over $100,000 in stakes ($103,548), and in hindsight would probably rate the third best horse I have owned and bred,” Olsson said.
The two best horses that the Caboolture-based 76-year-old also hail from the same family.
“They would be Bertils Light (Northern Lights – Marber Ruth) won 47 races ($123,172) between 2000 and 2006, and Bertil’s Pride (Digger Almahurst – Marber Ruth) who won 10 races as a 3-year-old before he succumbed to injury. She raced from 1999 until 2002. Bertils Pride also claimed the track record at Redcliffe of 1:57.8 in 2000, and held that record for four years,” Olsson said.
“They both recorded 1:57 mile-rates, which was quite quick back then, and is still quite competitive at Redcliffe today. In fact, Bertil’s Firefox still hasn’t gone that quick,” he added.
Olsson said he bought his foundation mare, the 1970 James Scott – Arama mare, Aramascott in 1980.
“She was in foal to Vic Adios, so I paid quite a bit for her, and then in 1981, I put Aramascott to Romeo Hanover, who was the top sire at the time. Marber Ruth was the result, and she is the grand-dam of Bertil’s Firefox,” said Olsson.
Sadly, Bertils Firefox’s dam, Bertil’s Wildfire (2002 Albert Albert – Marber Ruth) died last year nine months in foal to Lather Up. That was devastating. Before that she left a Sweet Lou colt named Bertils Waterlou, but he also passed away before he got to the races, so breeding has been a bit tough in recent years.
“However, I am breeding from Bertils Firefox’s older sister, Bertil’s Delight (2010 Bettor’s Delight – Bertils Wildfire mare). She won 12 races and is expecting a Lather Up foal in a few weeks.
“I’ll probably put her top Always B Miki next season,” Olsson said.
Olsson lived in Brisbane when he came to Australia 47 years ago, and then lived in Sydney before returning to Queensland in 1982, where he bought a 15-acre property at Caboolture.
He is married to his Australian wife, Karen, and has three adult children and six grandchildren.
NEXT START: Bertils Firefox will line up again at Redcliffe Paceway on Thursday evening at 6.22pm in what will be career start number 188. He has drawn five in the eighth race, and will again be driven by his trainer, Kerr.
Footnote: Caboolture is a major urban centre of the Moreton Bay local government area. It is 28km north-east of Redcliffe Paceway and 44km north of Brisbane, and boasts a population of 29,534.
Stockholm is the capital and most populous city of the Kingdom of Sweden and is the largest urban area in the Nordic countries. The area has been settled since the Stone Age, in the 6th millennium BC, and was founded as a city in 1252 by Swedish statesman Birger Jarl. It has a population of 987,661.
