Norway’s Derby day began as a Niels Petersen show. The trainer took the first three races in a row with Carlos Lopez in the saddle every time, and the biggest of them was Romanov, who won the Norsk Kriterium in a dominant display and is now unbeaten in three starts.
Cathrine Erichsen and Frida Valle Skar made their Sunday at Øvrevoll count in the Lanwades Stud Fillies and Mares Stakes (L), where Irish Lioness collected the NOK 200,000 first prize. It was the last of the day’s five races to put a big-race name on the board before the meeting was abandoned.
After the fifth race of the day the rest of Norway’s Derby day was abandoned. A double fall and slippery turf made the jockeys call a halt, and the five missing races – among them the Range Rover Norsk Derby and Marit Sveaas’ Minneløp (Gr.3) – will instead be run on Tuesday with the first off at 16.50.