Monday morning brought the declarations for the 2026 running of the Norsk Derby at Øvrevoll. Stald Shaker’s Danish Derby winner Cosmopolitan is chasing a second major triumph inside three weeks, and once again he has to cross swords with the horse he grew up alongside, Lord Of The Moon.
Cosmopolitan (Make Believe) and Lord Of The Moon (Sea The Moon) met on 28 June over 2100 metres at Bro Park, where the latter won Jockeyklubbens Grand Prix with any amount in hand. Cosmopolitan came home third, five lengths adrift.
Since then the picture has changed. Lord Of The Moon was withdrawn from the Bucherer Danish Derby with a hoof abscess, and Cosmopolitan wrote himself into the history books with half a length to spare over King To Be – Søren Jensen’s fifth Danish Derby after Ascot in 1977, Federico in 1995, Sir Henry in 2010 and Sir Herman in 2017 – and Jules Mobian’s first Derby ride.
Both Cosmopolitan and Lord Of The Moon were bred by Stutteri Hjortebo. The former has now won five of his eight starts and earned DKK 1,455,831.
He was crowned both Two-Year-Old of the Year and Horse of the Year for 2025 at Klampenborg, and he lines up with the highest form figure in the field, 84.
Lord Of The Moon had gone into Jockeyklubbens Grand Prix off what looked like a dress rehearsal of the highest order, having won Derbytesten at Klampenborg on 12 June by eight lengths.
Karin Salling’s Derby runner is partnered by Per-Anders Gråberg – and this is where it gets interesting, because Niels Petersen saddles five horses in the race, and his first jockey Carlos Lopez has gone for another one.
Lopez takes the leg up on Phantom Bling (New Bay), who won the Norsk Derby Trial on 30 July by a length from Super Smooth (Quarterback), with a further three lengths back to Jan-Erik Neuroth’s Nouvelle Fleur (Study Of Man), who also lines up here for Oliver Wilson.
“Phantom Bling is still a little inexperienced, but he produced an excellent performance today. I will not compare him with the horses running the Danish Derby on Saturday, but Phantom Bling ought to be an obvious winning candidate in the Norsk Derby,” said Petersen after the Norsk Derby Trial.
Axel Melbye’s Bling Enterprise had the runner-up last year with Icon Bling and holds two cards this time: Bullet Bling (Violence) is in as well. Bullet Bling was last seen finishing fourth in Svenskt Derby and is again partnered by Lorenzo Putzulu.
Petersen’s other runners are Konnichiwa (Japan) for Stald Sotto with Manuel Martinez and Glæsner Racing’s Lord Greystoke (Ulysses), who filled second behind Super Smooth in May and is now partnered by the three-time British champion jockey Silvestre De Sousa.
Super Smooth is the big Norwegian-bred hope. He won the Skandinavisk Mesterskap for 3-year-olds by 16 lengths and has had to bow only to Phantom Bling, in the Norsk Derby Trial. Gina Mathisen’s horse is ridden by Willa Synøve M. Schou.
Then come Annike Bye Hansen and Väsby Häst AB’s Hard To Impress (Waldgeist) with Sandro De Paiva, Nina Lindberg Lensvik’s Patas De Aranha (Sioux Nation) with Nicolaj Stott, Are Hyldmo’s Porter (Too Darn Hot), who runs for Stall Lilleville with Jacob Johansen, plus the Danish-bred Desert King (Moohaajim), whom Henrik Engblom saddles for the apprentice Jacob Kvisla – he, too, is a Stutteri Hjortebo product.
Cathrine Erichsen’s Miss Alti (Lucky Vega) was last seen filling second in Svenskt Oaks at Jägersro on 2 August, beaten a single length by Lady Irene over this very trip of 2400 metres. She is partnered by Frida Valle Skar, who after her Shergar Cup appearance at Ascot is back at Øvrevoll for the first time in ten years.
Danish breeding has enjoyed some good years in the race: Schamyl became the first Danish-bred winner of the Norsk Derby since Lights Out in 2003 when he took it in 2024, and in that same season Stutteri Hjortebo bred all three Scandinavian Derby winners.
That chance is there again in 2026.
The day’s best-endowed contest is the Marit Sveaas Minneløp (Gr.3) over 1800 metres, and the field of ten includes two Norsk Derby winners: Schamyl (Appel Au Maitre), who took it for Jan-Erik Neuroth in 2024 and lines up with Nicolaj Stott, and last year’s winner War Socks (Kameko), whom Niels Petersen sends out with De Sousa.
Also in the line-up is Icon Bling (Lope De Vega), the 2025 Norsk 2000 Guineas winner and most recently third in the Lanwades Stud Pokalløb, along with Simply Minds (Belardo), who was crowned Horse of the Year 2025 at Øvrevoll and last season surprised the favourites in this very race.
Niels Petersen also saddles Mount Kilimanjaro (Siyouni), who on 2 August ran his rivals ragged by five lengths in the Lanwades Stud Pokalløb (L) at Klampenborg for Wibecke Nagell-Erichsen – he also has the Danish Jockey Club Cup and Stockholms Stora Pris on his CV.
From Germany comes Andreas Wöhler’s Sommersby (Amaron) with Eddie Pedroza.
The Polar Cup (L) over 1370 metres brings together nine sprinters, and Annike Bye Hansen has the track specialist in Aphelios (Kodiac), who won the race by twelve lengths in 2024 and later took the Zawawi Sprint Cup (L) at Klampenborg.
Niels Petersen goes in with a full four: Wassim (Zarak) – winner of the Danish 2000 Guineas and Three-Year-Old of the Year 2025 at Klampenborg – with De Sousa, plus Hunters Lullaby (Footstepsinthesand), Ides Of March (Wootton Bassett) and Soulofchess (Gutaifan).
Roy Arne Kvisla lines up with Aurinko (Karakontie), while Väsby Häst AB, on top of Aphelios, also have Youonlyliveonce (Sidestep) in the field.
The Lanwades Stud Fillies and Mares Stakes (L) over a mile brings together three winners of the Norsk 1000 Guineas: Niels Petersen’s own Easywithme (El Kabeir), who in 2024 took both the Norsk and the Svenskt 1000 Guineas, Capitana Bling (Invincible Army), who won the Norsk 1000 Guineas last year and is trained by Silja Støren, and Lennart J:r Reuterskiöld’s Mehmas Air Force (Mehmas), successful in this year’s running.
Denmark is doubly represented by Søren Jensen with Taifuu (Japan), who won the Larch Ærespræmie on Derby day at Klampenborg, and Lulu Tøpholm’s Bloomers’ Vase (L) winner Sunday Fudge (Reliable Man) with Jules Mobian.
Derby day at Øvrevoll gets under way at 12.45 with the Norsk Kriterium, which from 2026 has been moved forward in the calendar and has thereby become the day’s big two-year-old race, over 1370 metres on turf.
Niels Petersen has Inzain Bling (Hello Youmzain) with De Sousa and the unbeaten Goffs Futurity Stakes winner Romanov (Starspangledbanner) with Lopez.
Kieran Watson lines up with Al Rihla (Caturra) and Hannibalatthegates (Profitable), and Jan-Erik Neuroth sends out Stall Perlen’s Appelon (Appel Au Maitre) and Safari Moon (Appel Au Maitre) with Oliver Wilson and Frida Valle Skar.
