Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

Odds On Racing's

Trainer of the Month
for June 2008

Jonas Czernyson

Jonas Czernyson—another in the long line of Swedish horsemen who train and race on North American soil—has quietly made a name for himself. And he prefers it that way.

Since since opening a public stable in 1991, Czernyson, 34, has conditioned a Hambletonian Oaks winner and one of this year’s top freshman trotters. To date he’s conditioned the winners of well over $3.8 million in earnings.

Jonas Czernyson

Czernyson grew up just outside of Ystad, some eight hours south of Stockholm. His hometown—located at Sweden’s southernmost tip—has a population of a little over 17,000 people, sporting picturesque streets and well-preserved medieval churches. This port city is better known as a tourist-friendly village than as a harness racing hamlet.

"I’m not the attention—hogging type of guy," Czernyson said modestly. "I like to go about my business quietly and let my horses do the speaking for me. I don’t need to run around and get a lot of publicity. That’s not the type of person I am."

Unlike many of his contemporaries, the affable Czernyson didn’t come from a harness racing background.

"We had ponies growing up," Czernyson recalled. "The ponies were for fun—we rode them in the winter and drove them in the summer. We did a little bit of everything with them—show jumping and cross-country riding too. I played soccer a little bit, but I wasn’t that good, so I gave that up pretty quick and just stuck to the horses."

Czernyson’s father Lars is a handyman—working for the local nursing home and school—repairing "whatever needs fixing." His mother, Bodol, is a nurse in that same nursing home. His two brothers, Märton, 38, and Henrick 27, are both welders, and Czernyson is accomplished in that trade as well.

"I got a degree in welding through the local college and graduated in 1991," he stated. "I started in welding school at age 16. I liked working with steel and it’s something that I can still use today when I need to in terms of shoeing horses. It’s very close to the blacksmithing thing. I always liked it because it was kind of fun making stuff.

"When I was 18, I got the opportunity to come to the States," Czernyson continued. "A friend of my folks knew someone who was working for Don Swick at the South Florida Trotting Center. So in January of 1992 I went to work for Don.

"I had planned on staying in North America for just six months," Czernyson laughed. "That turned into a year, and then into 15 years, and I haven’t left since except to visit my family on a couple of occasions."

Czernyson quickly adapted to life as a caretaker for Swick in the warm Florida sun, but it wasn’t the weather that made the biggest impression to the young import.

"When I first arrived in Florida, it was the size of everything that surprised me the most," Czernyson said. "Everything seemed so big to me, the cars, the streets, just everything.

"With the horses, the pacers were so interesting, because we don’t have them in Sweden. So it was a good learning experience for me to be around them, to see how they were rigged, etc." he added. "In one respect, it was good that I didn’t have a background in harness racing, because even though I had horse experience, all of the things I was learning with Don were new for me. I loved it all."

That first summer Czernyson also made the lengthy trek from Florida to The Meadowlands in East Rutherford, N.J., where Swick was stabled during the summer.

"The first trip to the Big M was tough on me," Czernyson noted. "We were stabled at the track and the atmosphere really didn’t suit me. It was all blacktop and concrete and that was so foreign to me. Things got better, however, when Don sent me on the road to Vernon with a few horses."

One of those horses was the then under saddle trotting champion, Preferential.

"I got to be his temporary groom," Czernyson recalled. "It was a fun time, and it was nice to be in a more country-like setting at Vernon."

Czernyson soon returned to the Big M, and it was there he met Per Eriksson for the first time in August of 1992.

"Don was running out of horses then and he didn’t want me to be without a job," Czernyson remembered. "So he helped me to hook me up with Per. I started out as a caretaker and moved up into a second trainer position after two years."

During Czernyson’s nine-year stint with Eriksson, he was paired with the top trotter Giant Force, and spent six months traveling throughout Europe, racing over some of the Continent’s finest raceways.

"He was the best horse I took care of while I was with Per," Czernyson remarked. "We traveled around Italy, Germany, Sweden, Norway and Denmark. It was great being partnered with a horse of his caliber."

During that time, Czernyson also was able to reunite with his family on several occasions.

"My parents and brothers came to see me when we raced in Sweden," he said. "They were all happy for me. My dad was very happy and proud, and my brothers too. My mother had mixed feelings—on one hand she was very happy, but she missed me too."

Working for Eriksson could be tough at times, Czernyson admitted, but said he would not have traded the experience for anything.

"Working for Per was tough—he was a perfectionist and very demanding," Czernyson noted. "If you screwed up you definitely got to know about it. When I look back at that now, I’m very glad that he was demanding to work for. I wouldn’t be where I am today if he wasn’t that tough.

"He demanded excellent," Czernyson continued. "He didn’t care how long it took you to get it done—you had to get it done the way he wanted it done and that was it—he didn’t care if it took you one hour or one day. He didn’t accept anything less than perfection with his horses and his barn.

"We had to have the trunks in a specific spot and the halters hung a certain way. Everything in his barn was perfect, and there’s no excuse why a barn shouldn’t be neat and tidy. I think it’s important to keep things that way—to keep things on a professional level."

During his tenure with Eriksson, Czernyson also had the opportunity work with and train a host of top trotters including Credit Winner 3, 1:54m ($1,495,295); Dream of Joy 2,1:57m ($826,601) and Giant Mermaid 4,1:54.4 ($365,039).

"It was a great opportunity to get to work with top horses," Czernyson noted. "Working for Per, you really learned how to develop a baby, how to push then when they needed to be pushed and how to leave them alone or back off of them when the time demanded you to do so."

In November 2001, Czernyson’s employment with the famed Swedish trotting master came to an end, when Eriksson returned to his native homeland in Scandinavia.

"I was a little worried and at first I didn’t know what to do when Per told me the news," Czernyson said. "He gave me the option to go back to Sweden with him if I wanted to, to work with him over there. Unfortunately, I would have to become a groom again in Sweden and that’s what made decide to stay in the U.S. and train on my own.

"I was happy to have the opportunity but it was scary," he continued. "There were things that I had to think about then that I had never had to do as a second trainer. Like being the bad guy who has to call the owners with bad news about their horses. That was something I never experienced as a second trainer—Per was always the person who was responsible for communicating both the good and the bad news to the owners.

"I decided to start a public stable, and I was lucky, as three of Per’s owners stayed with me," he added.

Initially, Czernyson had just seven horses in his barn in the early months of 2002. Today, that number has grown to 40, while the owners in his stable now number eight. And Czernyson now spends his winters at Sunshine Meadows and his summers at New Jersey’s Showplace Farms.

"In this business, the only way to showcase your talent and convince owners you are capable is by the results you get on the track," he stated. "Per gave me some very good advice. He said ‘work hard, never give up, and don’t lie to the owners—ever.’ I think that was very solid advice and it’s what I subscribe to."

Eriksson’s advice has indeed paid off for Czernyson. In the fall of 2003, he was given a bay daughter of Donerail to train by the Menhammar Stuteri Ab—the Swedish-based breeding and racing powerhouse stable. The filly—christened Jalopy--was the eighth foal out of the unraced Supergill mare Another Gill—who had previously produced the filly Gillnet (by Armbro Goal) 3,1:57.1f, a 15-race winner of $179,709 and Pine Frame (a colt by Pine Chip) 4,1:57 ($39,449).
"Menhammer had horses with Eriksson, and when I went on my own they began giving me their homebred yearlings and the ones they’d buy at the sales," Czernyson explained. "For instance, this year they bought two and raised five. Their operation in Sweden is huge."

"Jalopy trained down really well and felt like a very nice filly at 2.

"She was always a good-feeling filly," Czernyson continued. "One morning, she was acting silly and kicked up over a line and took off. She got loose and ended up hurting her shoulder, so we quit with her."

Jalopy made only three pari-mutuel starts at 2, but failed to stay on stride in those. She did, however, win a qualifier at Lexington in mid-September, stopping the timer in 2:01 over the red clay.

"When she came back at 3 she really didn’t show she was going to be very good until about a month before the Oaks," Czernyson noted. "She hit her knees pretty good and I had to play around with her rigging a bit, and I ended up getting her right just at the right time for the Oaks."

Czernyson removed the filly’s knee boots and put white surgical tape on her knees instead. The change in her gait was dramatic enough to carry Czernyson to his first Hambletonian Oaks winner’s circle.

"She would hit her knees so bad that she would knock herself out of balance," he stated. "Joe Holloway had told me he had tried this—using the surgical tape instead of knee boots--on one of his good pacers. So I tried it and it changed her gait enough to get her off her knees."

Jalopy put forth the best effort of her career on that steamy, August 6th afternoon of 2005 at The Meadowlands. After stalking the leaders, she made a three-wide move around the final turn to best rival Blur in 1:53.4 by a nose in the $750,000 Hambletonian Oaks.

"When the horses crossed the wire I thought we were second and I was really happy to be second," Czernyson said. "When they announced our number, I was more happy than words can express. Winning the Oaks has definitely been the highlight of my career."

Jalopy retired that season after earning $433,662 for owner Menhammar Stuteri Ab of New Canaan, Conn. She was bred to Credit Winner in 2006 and 2007 and was exported to Sweden on Aug. 19 of this year.

"She’ll foal her first baby in 2008 at the Menhammar facility in Stockholm," Czernyson said. "If it’s a filly, I’d love to train her."

Jalopy’s Hambletonian Oak’s victory did not go unnoticed. Owner Bob Rosenheim of Sharon, Conn., spied the young Swede and liked what he saw.

"Bob first approached me soon after Jalopy won the Oaks," Czernyson said. "I knew Bob a little through Per and at the 2005 Harrisburg sale he bought a couple of yearlings and said he wanted me to train them."

That partnership couldn’t have worked out better for both Czernyson and Rosenheim. At the 2006 Harrisburg sale, a son of Andover Hall caught Czernyson’s attention, and he signed the ticket for $77,000 on Surtees Hanover for owner Rosenheim.

Surtees Hanover raced nine times under Czernyson’s tutelage, winning seven starts with one second and one third-place finish, earning $362,928. He took a career best mark of 1:55 en route to winning the $90,500 Bluegrass Stake on Oct. 4 at Lexington.

"I had Surtees’ full brother—Stargate Hanover—at 2," Czernyson recalled. "He had some breathing issues that kept him from being a good horse as a freshman."

"Surtees was nice from day one. My only concern was that he might have breathing issues too and thank goodness, he didn’t. I didn’t know he was going to be as nice as he was, but he did show a lot of power early in his training."

Soon after that Red Mile victory, Rosenheim sold the hardy freshman privately for a hefty sum (over one million dollars) to trainer Roger Walmann, the conditioner behind 1:50.1 world record holder Giant Diablo. Both trotters were exported to Sweden on Nov. 15.

"Bob was instrumental in getting the horse sold, and while I was very sad to see him go, I completely understand the reason," Czernyson said. "Bob was offered a tremendous amount of money for Surtees—it was simply an offer he couldn’t refuse.

"There was absolutely not a thing wrong with this colt, either," Czernyson added. "He was my big hope for next year’s Hambletonian."

Czernyson also conditioned the freshman Conway Hall youngster Velocity Hall to two wins and five seconds in ten starts this year. The youngster scored a 2:00.2h record at Monticello Raceway on Aug. 28 en route to $113,278 in seasonal earnings for Maine partners Thomas Dillon and Walter Hight.

"That’s the best part of this game," Czernyson noted. "It’s great to take a horse and make him into a racehorse from scratch—from the beginning. I love working with the babies and seeing them improve day to day. It’s a very satisfying feeling."

When it comes to selecting yearlings, Czernyson said he prefers to see a horse in the flesh before he studies its lineage. He also utilizes a measuring cane on yearlings he’s interested in, a technique he acquired from Eriksson.

"The measuring cane is a tool, it’s something I use to see that the yearlings are longer than they are tall," Czernyson explained. "Usually, you can tell this from the from the naked eye, but you get a more accurate reading with it from the cane. Per did it and I thought it was a sound way to consider yearlings. It came naturally then that I had to do it.

"With yearlings, it’s kind of a 50-50 thing," he said. "I enjoy picking out yearlings. Size, length, confirmation—those are the most important things for me. Bloodlines—well, they’re not the main thing for me, but if I had to choose, I’d say that babies out of Muscles Yankee and Malabar Man broodmares are my favorites."

Czernyson also prefers to see yearlings at the farm, prior to viewing them in the sales barn or in the area.

"I like to go to the farm and see as many as I can," he noted. "I do that myself. As soon as I get the sales catalogues, I start going to the farms looking at babies. I look at all the babies that I can and then when I get to the sale I try to find the right client for the right horse. I work with the clients on their individual budgets and tailor the horses to suit their individual wishes.

"I usually discuss with my clients before hand what we’re looking for," Czernyson added. "Most of my clients take me at my word with what I say about a particular yearling. Some of them like to do their own bidding and others just don’t care about that part of it.

"Overall, my owners are all pretty low key," he added.

Czerynson’s training and conditioning program emphasizes a stress-free learning environment for his youngsters.

"I don’t like to rush the babies when it comes to getting them to understand what I want from them," Czernyson continued. "I’ll line drive them an extra day if that’s what they need—I don’t believe in rushing them ever.

"I don’t have any preference to training colts or fillies either—training any nice horse is a great thrill," he added. "I have mostly trotters and a few pacing fillies. A lot of my owners want to keep their horses for breeding, so for them, it makes sense to have the fillies."

Czernyson said he utilizes a number of techniques he learned from Eriksson in his daily training regime.

"Between a horse’s 2- and 3-year-old seasons I’ll use pressure carts on them," he said. "With all of my horses I believe in a lot of walking—it’s something I picked up from Per—sometimes they’ll walk twice a day for an hour each session.

"I think it’s important to listen to and watch other trainers," he added. "You don’t have to take their advice on everything but there’s a lot you can learn from other successful people."

Czernyson also breaks some of his youngsters to saddle.

"I’ll train some of them under saddle just to keep the scenery different for them," he noted. "Some horses need a change in their routine to keep their minds fresh and engaged."

As well, many of Czernyson’s horses jog, train and race without shoes.

"I let a lot of the horses go barefoot and I like to race them barefoot too," he said. "I think horses pick up a couple of seconds racing barefoot. But it’s something that, as a trainer, you have to plan in advance—about a month before—if you want it to be effective for a big race."

Czernyson will also employ alternative, holistic treatments as part of his overall conditioning program.

"We check the horses constantly," he said. "If we’re not 100% satisfied with the way they’ve trained or raced, we check the horse over through flexing, trying to find out where they might have a problem. We always check the heart rate after they train and race too.

"We do some acupuncture as well on several of the horses," Czernyson said. "Whatever each horse needs I provide for them. I’m a big believer in the old-fashioned basics—poultice, blistering, sweating, putting a horse on the hose, and giving them electrolytes after they race or train."

Czernyson doesn’t skimp when it comes to nutrition, either.

"I have a friend who is a nutrition specialist at Purina," he noted. "He helped me to develop a feed supplement tailored just for my horses. I feed a good sweet feed, hay cubes, a little bit of hay and this supplement."

"Sometimes this is a funny business," Czernyson laughed. "I’ll have people come over from Sweden and they’ll ask me what I’m using to be successful and I’ll say I’m using what works—oats and hay cubes. You can’t be putting a bunch of chemicals into a 2-year-old trotting filly or you’re going to have problems!"

So what does the future hold for the ambitious Czernyson?

"I hope that I can stay healthy to remain in this sport for a long time, and hopefully, win harness racing’s biggest races, such as the Hambletonian and the Elitlopp," he said. "I think I’m moving my stable and myself in the right direction. I started out with a solid base and have kept moving in that direction. Right now I’m having a great time in racing and I’m making money doing it."

"I didn’t come to North America with a set of pre-conceived ideas on how this or that should be. I just love what I do and I think that comes across to people."

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*This story~written by Kimberly Rinker~originally appeared in the December 2007 issue of The Harness Edge~~Canada's leading monthly, Standardbred magazine.*