Søren Jensen has been a trainer for more than 55 years and Danish champion trainer on several occasions. It has brought four Danish Derby wins. And this year the chance is there again with the 2025 Horse of the Year, Cosmopolitan, who was most recently third in Jockeyklubbens Grand Prix at Bro Park. The Dubai winner Taifuu, on the other hand, will not line up in the Danish Derby – but goes for Larch Ærespræmie instead.
In the period leading up to the Danish Derby on 1 August, RaceTime will publish a series of articles connected with the Derby. About the expected leading players and their Derby stories.
UPS AND DOWNS.
At the end of last season Søren Jensen had two of the very biggest favourites for the 2026 Danish Derby.
The 2025 Horse of the Year, the Criterium winner Cosmopolitan (Make Believe) and the Swedish winter favourite Taifuu (Japan).
Today things do not look quite so rosy.
Cosmopolitan is a winner at Klampenborg this year, and he was most recently third in Jockeyklubbens Grand Prix at Bro Park. Not bad, but Cosmopolitan has not quite lived up to last year’s performances.
Taifuu began the season in the finest style with a win in the Mawj Stakes on Meydan in Dubai, and she was later fifth in the Jumeirah 1000 Guineas.
But because of an injury she has not run since then, and she will not line up in the Danish Derby.
RaceTime has visited Søren Jensen as a build-up to the Danish Derby on 1 August, and Søren remains an optimist and believes in the possibility of a fifth Danish Derby win, even though he acknowledges that Lord Of The Moon (Sea The Moon) in particular looks like being a hard nut to crack.
COSMOPOLITAN IS FAR FROM BEING WRITTEN OFF FOR THE DERBY.
I asked Søren to assess Cosmopolitan‘s run in Jockeyklubbens Grand Prix – a race he himself won five years ago with Good Fortune (Appel Au Maitre).
“I was well satisfied”, Søren answered. “Cosmopolitan travelled for the first time, and he handled the journey well.”
“I feared the quick ground and the big field, but Cosmopolitan finished off well, and another 300 metres would have done him good.”
And Søren continued:
“Cosmopolitan is a slightly immature horse. He was gelded in the autumn, and that has developed him mentally. He was set back a little in the spring because of a virus”.
“Cosmopolitan is a big, strong horse who needs to be worked, and in a Derby context a good pace would help him, just as a bit of water in the ground would strengthen his hand. He stays the trip.”
“So he absolutely cannot be written off for the Derby. Cosmopolitan will not run again before the Danish Derby on 1 August”.
TAIFUU HOPEFULLY ON HER WAY BACK.
Since coming home from Dubai, Taifuu has had to contend with a strained muscle, but Søren was able to report that this week she has done her first fast work, and it went satisfactorily.
“So now we are hoping for the best”, Søren said.
“The intention is to run her in Larch Ærespræmie.”
Søren Jensen was at the Royal Ascot meeting this year, and there he met among others the successful Irish top trainer Aidan O’Brien.
One of the horses Taifuu beat when she won the Mawj Stakes in Dubai, Miss Yechance (Cotai Glory) – who was beaten three lengths by Taifuu – was among the runners in a Class 2 handicap at Ascot, and she finished seventh of 27 runners.
ASCOT WAS THE FIRST.
For a lifetime Søren Jensen has helped to leave his considerable mark on the Danish Derby.
In 1977 – that is 49 years ago – he won his first Derby with Ascot (Ides Of March).
Søren was a trainer on Funen at the time, and he had himself ridden Ascot to victory in Distanceprøven.
But he chose to hand over the reins to Rae Guest, who rode Ascot to victory in the Derby Trial Stakes and therefore also got the ride in the Danish Derby.
“My career as a jockey was over in any case”, Søren said.
“In my last race as a jockey I was fined 500 kroner for passive riding. I told the stewards that I simply was not any better than that, but it did not help”.
With the win on Ascot, Søren Jensen became the youngest trainer of a Danish Derby winner. Søren was only 21 years old.
Since the start of the 1980s Søren Jensen has been a Klampenborg trainer, with a single spell away as trainer for Willy Bechmann’s horses in England.
THE AMERICAN-BRED FEDERICO WAS IN A CLASS OF HIS OWN.
Eighteen years had to pass before Søren Jensen got another Derby winner.
In the years from 1995 up to 1999 the Danish Derby was open to imports, and the Strecker brothers bought an exciting American-bred yearling in France, Federico (Known Fact).
“I was admittedly concerned about Federico‘s leg conformation. It made me frown, but fortunately for the Strecker brothers – and for me – they did not listen to me.”
Federico followed up the Derby win with victories in a series of feature races in the following years.
Most remarkable was the win the year after, when Federico comfortably won the Scandinavian Open Championship (L) ahead of a number of top foreign horses trained outside Scandinavia.
SIR HENRY’S DRAMATIC DERBY WIN.
In 2010 Søren Jensen won the Danish Derby with the Karin Salling-owned Sir Henry (Academy Award), but a long time passed before the win was finally secured.
Sir Henry passed the post first, but he was demoted for interfering with High Flyer shortly before the line.
Sir Henry was therefore demoted to third place, and Diamool (Mamool), who had passed High Flyer when he was taken up, was declared the Derby winner and High Flyer promoted to second.
That did not end the matter, however, which was only settled almost two years later by the appeal stewards, who confirmed the original result.
SIR HERMAN WAS A SURPRISE DERBY WINNER.
The next time Søren Jensen was in the winner’s circle to receive a Derby winner, it was again with a horse owned by Karin Salling, the Zoffany son Sir Herman.
Several people doubted Sir Herman’s ability to stay, and that was probably why he was only fourth favourite in the betting.
Søren himself had his doubts too, and it was indeed only after a nerve-racking finish that Sir Herman was able to beat Freestyler (Areion).
SEVERAL TOP PLACINGS IN THE DANISH DERBY OVER THE YEARS.
It is not about winning, but about taking part. And there is no doubt that for most owners it is an experience to have a horse in a Derby. But the experience is hardly diminished if you win.
Over the years Søren Jensen has trained many Derby runners who did well without winning.
In 2000 Amusement (Final Appearance) was second.
The following year Cut Champion (Final Appearance) won, but the second, third, fourth and fifth home, New York, Call Me York, Monsieur Et Toi and Correze, were all trained by Søren Jensen.
And they were, incidentally, all by the Rainbow Quest son Richard Of York.
In 2003 Singita (Diaghlyphard) was the favourite, but after an unlucky run she had to settle for fourth.
In 2004 Athene (Final Appearance) was second. And in 2010, when Sir Henry won the Derby for Søren, High Flyer (Linamix) was third.
In 2014 the unbeaten Stradivarius (Chinese Mandarin) was a hot favourite to win the Danish Derby.
But he had to settle for second behind Davicii (Panis). As a small consolation Søren Jensen also took third place with the winner of the Dansk 2000 Guineas, Harbour Light (Academy Award).
Stradivarius later in his career won the Breeders’ Trophy Stayer at Täby.
In 2016 Søren Jensen trained the second favourite in the Danish Derby, Harbour Light‘s little sister Beaufort Twelve (Academy Award) – who is the dam of Taifuu (Japan) – but she found the Derby trip too far and finished seventh.
In 2017 Sir Herman won the Danish Derby as described, and in 2019 there were again two top placings in the Danish Derby, the year Queen Rouge (Lord Of England) won.
Good Fella (Center Divider) was second and Margrethe (Juniper Tree) fourth.
Margrethe later in her career won both Fabellaløb and the Sceptre Stakes.
Recent years have been a little lean in Derby terms for Søren Jensen, but in 2021 he was third with Good Fortune (Appel Au Maitre), who subsequently had an outstanding career.
It brought, among other things, wins in the Breeders’ Trophy Classic, the Zabeel Turf on Meydan and Stockholms Stora Pris (Gr.3).
Good Fortune was owned by Stald Shaker & Havemanns, and with Cosmopolitan Stald Shaker now gets another chance to finally get a Derby winner.
ONE MILLION KRONER IN EARNINGS THIS YEAR.
With Sunday’s win for Sunday Fudge (Reliable Man) in the Cinnamon Challenge and Cosmopolitan‘s third place in Jockeyklubbens Grand Prix, horses in training with Søren Jensen have now earned a total of one million kroner this year.
The top earner is of course Taifuu with her win in Dubai.
That brings Søren Jensen up to third place among Danish trainers this year, when prize money in Denmark as well as in other countries is counted.
At the top of the list is Bent Olsen, whose horses have earned more than 1.3 million kroner in total this year. Great Wish alone has earned 834,000 kroner this year on Meydan and at Ascot.
Lea Olsen, who leads the Danish trainers’ list for prize money won in Denmark by a clear margin, is second with earnings of a good 1.2 million kroner.
There will probably be more at the weekend, where Lea Olsen trains two of the favourites for Jydsk Derby, Albarella (Toronado) and Beethoven (Goken) – two horses we will presumably also see lining up in the Danish Derby.
