Once again this year Niels Petersen becomes Scandinavian champion trainer. And as last year he wins the trainers’ championship in Denmark as well as in Norway – as always. Niels Petersen has tried his hand at branches in Chantilly and at Jägersro. In recent years he has also had a branch at Klampenborg. How does Niels Petersen himself think the year has gone, and what about the future?
THE BIG ONES.
Niels Petersen is among the truly big, still active trainers in Scandinavia. If you can trust the statistics published by the Scandinavian jockey clubs – and put in current exchange rates – he is surpassed only by Wido Neuroth.
So far. Niels Petersen is closing in on Wido Neuroth, who has earned a little over 100 million Danish kroner as a trainer. Niels Petersen just under 100 million Danish kroner. Of the other current champion trainers there follow Lennart Reuterskiöld Jr., Bent Olsen and Søren Jensen.
SCANDINAVIAN CHAMPION.
Niels Petersen becomes Scandinavian champion trainer again this year. The racing season in Scandinavia is not over, but his earnings will amount to almost 8 million Danish kroner.
That will turn out to be about double what his closest rivals Wido Neuroth and Lennart Reuterskiöld Jr. will earn this year.
At the same time Niels Petersen becomes champion trainer in Denmark as well as in Norway. Niels Persen has been champion trainer in Norway 12 times.
Lennart J:r Reuterskiöld becomes clearly the best trainer in Sweden. That is the seventh time in the last 10 years. Only in 2018, 2014 and 2013 did it slip away. Then Niels Petersen was champion trainer in Sweden.
WELL SATISFIED WITH THE SEASON.
Niels Petersen, who turned 50 last year, is well satisfied with the racing year as it has gone so far. “Seen in perspective it has been a fine year. There have been problems here and there, but every trainer has those”.
He is very pleased to be champion trainer in his original home country for the second year running. Niels was born in Gentofte close to Klampenborg Galopbane.
He is sorry, though, that a number of his very best horses have had injuries this season and have largely had to watch from the sidelines. That goes for Kick On, Square De Luynes, Tuwaiq and Bullof Wall Street. Fortunately they are all fine now.
A GOOD 2.5 MILLION KRONER IN EARNINGS FROM HORSES AT THE KLAMPENBORG BRANCH.
In December 2020 Niels Persen opened his branch in the newly built stables at Klampenborg Galopbane. Horses in training at Niels Petersen’s Klampenborg branch have earned a good 2.5 million kroner in 2022.
The big money-earners are King David, Slava Ukraini, White Heart and Masseto. Between them the four horses have earned more than two million kroner, and King David alone almost 1.3 million.
It came to two big wins this year at Klampenborg with horses in training at Klampenborg. Slava Ukraini won Dansk Galops Auktionsløb and King David the Pokalløb (L).
Last year Niels Petersen experienced a historic ”Super Seven” as a trainer on Klampenborg’s Derby day. That did not happen this year, but there was a ”four-timer” with four wins – three of them in big races – and two second places, among them in the Danish Derby.
The winning horses were King David, Could Be King, Ascot Brass and Brunello. In all, Niels Petersen-trained horses earned 727,500 kroner on Danish Derby day this year. Rather more than most Danish trainers earn at Klampenborg in a whole year.
THE KLAMPENBORG BRANCH WORKS WELL.
Niels Petersen is on the whole satisfied with the branch at Klampenborg Galopbane. “My day-to-day manager Stephan Heiler is skilful and very knowledgeable about horses, and he is a good rider”, Niels said when we met at Klampenborg Galopbane before the start of the year’s last raceday.
“We understand each other, and we talk several times a day”, Niels Petersen continued.
Stephan Heiler was born in Berlin and lived his first years in Germany before he moved to Canada in 1997. He lived there for 25 years, and Stephan Heiler is a Canadian citizen.
He has a past both as a professional jockey with more than 1900 wins and as an assistant to Hall Of Fame trainer Josie Carroll at Woodbine.
“IT IS NOT ALWAYS EASY”.
In the conversation Niels Petersen stressed that having stables in several places in Scandinavia is not unproblematic. “It is time-consuming having to be in ‘two places’, and among other things it has become expensive to fly from Oslo to Copenhagen and back”.
“Logistically it is not always easy. And then there is the conscience”, Niels mentioned. “Is what I do right or wrong. It can be hard always to be in the right place.”
Niels Petersen currently has 11 horses in training at Klampenborg. Fewer than before. And he makes no secret of the fact that he would very much like to have more. New owners have been hard to come by. “It can be a challenge to be a successful Norwegian trainer in competition with established leading Danish trainers”.
I asked Niels how he decides, in consultation with the owners, where the horses are to be trained. Especially as regards the Danish-owned horses, which are owned by Mme Fernande, Miga Horses, The J.C. Organization and Elkær Stutteri.
“It depends on several things”, Niels answered. “Stutteri Elkær has five horses in training at Øvrevoll. They attach importance to the horses being where I mainly am”.
“It also plays a part what the plans are with the horses in question. What they are to be aimed at. Whether they are to run on dirt. A number of imports can with advantage be stabled at Øvrevoll, because there are more big races for imports at Øvrevoll and Bro Park”.
“Finally there is of course the question of proximity. Several owners would like to be as close to their racehorses as possible, so that they can come to the stable and visit them”.
BY FAR THE MOST HORSES AT ØVREVOLL.
Niels Petersen has 45 horses in training at Øvrevoll.
Øvrevoll is Niels Petersen’s base. It was here that he started as an independent trainer in 1998, and it is with horses trained at Øvrevoll that he has reaped his greatest triumphs.
It is impossible to pick out the best. But Bank Of Burden, Icecapada, Our Last Summer Square De Luynes and Beat Baby are among the horses I particularly remember.
ANOTHER YEAR WITH MANY BIG-RACE WINNERS.
Niels Petersen’s ‘Øvrevoll stable’ again took home several big races this year. The list is impressive. Below is a summary of the Niels Petersen-trained Øvrevoll horses that have done best this year (the prize money is in Norwegian kroner).
Hear The Drums: Won four times and earned 1,843,000 kroner. The wins came in Svenskt 2000 Guineas at Bro Park, in Skandinavisk Mesterskap for 3-åringer at Øvrevoll, in Jockeyklubbens Grand Prix at Bro Park and in the Breeders’ Prize Classic at Øvrevoll. In addition Hear The Drums was second in the Danish Derby at Klampenborg.
Could Be King: Won all six of his starts in Scandinavia and earned 1,270,000 kroner. It came to three Listed wins. Bro Park Vårsprint, the Polar Cup at Øvrevoll and the Bro Park Sprint Championship. At Klampenborg Could Be King won the Zawawi Sprint Cup.
Ascot Brass: Earned 987,000 kroner this year. She won two Listed races at Bro Park, the Lanwades Stud Stakes and Bloomers’ Vase, and at Klampenborg she won the Fawzia Stakes. The 5-year-old Juniper Tree daughter has now won 4.5 million kroner in all.
Iron Butterfly: Last year’s Danish Derby winner has won three times this year and earned 618,000 kroner. She won the Dansk Breeders’ Cup at Klampenborg ahead of Good Fortune, and she became a Listed winner when she won the Lanwades Stud Stakes at Øvrevoll.
Crack The Sky: Gave Niels Petersen another Classic win when the Nathaniel daughter won Norsk Oaks ahead of the Danish Oaks winner Sea Lodge. Crack The Sky was fourth in Norsk Derby, and she has earned 418,000 kroner this year.
Cotton Eye Joe: Won Skandinavisk Mesterskap for 2-åringer on his debut. Since then it has come to two second places at Bro Park. In the Breeders’ Trophy Juvenile he was beaten by Maxmartin and in Vinterfavoriternes Pris by Got A Lot. Cotton Eye Joe has earned 416,000 kroner this year.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR GREATEST EXPERIENCE AS A TRAINER THIS YEAR?
At that question there was a longer pause for thought from Niels. “I had fine Derby days at both Klampenborg and Øvrevoll this year. I think, though, that I will above all remember 2022 for two outstanding horses. Could Be King and King David“.
“Could Be King, who was unbeaten in Scandinavia this year, is a lovely horse. Fine and kind. Every trainer’s dream. And then King David, whom I was almost a little nervous about getting into training, because he had already achieved such fine results. But I think we have improved him further, and now we are going to Bahrain”.
BAHRAIN WILL BE A HARD TASK FOR KING DAVID.
Niels Petersen believes that King David will do well in the Bahrain International Trophy (Gr.3), run on turf over 2000 metres on 18 November.
“He has to meet some top horses, among them Godolphin’s Dubawi son Dubai Future, who won a Listed race at Royal Ascot this year. But King David is a Group 3 winner. The track should suit him. There is a long, fine home straight, which King David likes. The distance is OK too – perhaps just a shade far”.
King David has booked a flight to Bahrain on 11 November, and Niels Petersen and Oliver Wilson, who is to ride King David, are also leaving in good time before the race, so that everyone can get used to the conditions. There is a total prize fund in the Bahrain International Trophy of a good 5 million kroner with 3 million kroner to the winner.
NO DERBY WINNERS THIS YEAR.
Niels Petersen is spoilt with Derby winners. Last year he won the Danish Derby with Iron Butterfly. And in 2020 he won Svenskt Derby with Bullof Wall Street and Norsk Derby with Whispering Ocean. But this year it slipped away. He was second, though, with Hear The Drums in the Danish Derby.
Niels Petersen has won 14 Scandinavian Derbys. Seven Norwegian, four Danish and three Swedish.
The first Derby winner came in 2010. It was Stall Treat or Treat’s Go Go Gadget.
WILL STALL TRICK OR TREAT WIN THE DANISH DERBY AGAIN?
Stall Trick Or Treat, which is run by Morten Myhre, with whom Niels is good friends, also owned Niels Petersen’s first Danish Derby winner, Quite A Mission, who won the Danish Derby in 2013. And this year Stall Trick Or Treat was close again, when Hear The Drums was second, beaten by Titannia.
What did not come off this year may come off next year. Stall Trick Or Treat’s Cotton Eye Joe (Appel Au Maitre – Jungle Julia), who is in training with Niels Petersen, is a full brother to Hear The Drums. With a handicap mark of 83 Cotton Eye Joe is second on the list of horses entered for the Danish Derby in 2023.
If everything goes wrong, Stall Trick Or Treat can hope that a half-sister by Giant Sandman to Hear The Drums and Cotton Eye Joe, whom they have bought from Stutteri Hjortebo, can win the Danish Derby 2024.
SEVERAL CLASSIC CANDIDATES FOR NEXT YEAR.
Cotton Eye Joe is not the only card Niels Petersen holds for next year’s Classic races and other big races for 3-year-olds. “I have a really good team ready for the Derby season, and it is not my ambition not to win Scandinavian Derbys in 2023″.
The focus is above all on the Moohaajim son Slava Ukraini out of the Sceptre Stakes winner Rayna. Slava Ukraini, who is trained at Niels Petersen’s Klampenborg branch, won Dansk Galops Auktionsløb, and he was second in Vinterfavoritternes Ærespræmie behind Eagle Eye.
Most recently Slava Ukraini won the Basnæsløb over 1800 metres, the year’s longest two-year-old race, in runaway style.
After the win Slava Ukraini was raised to 84 in the handicap. It is likely that he will winter in Dubai.
From the Klampenborg branch Niels Petersen also mentions the Wilshire Boulevard son Gravity out of the Danish Oaks winner Elektra Art. Gravity was up there in his two starts this year.
Niels Petersen also has several other candidates, all of them in training at Øvrevoll. The US Navy Flag son Stripesof Stars won on his debut, and he was second in Norsk Kriterium beaten by Ami De Vega.
Most recently The J.C Organization’s Stripes Of Stars won narrowly at Øvrevoll on 6 November over 1600 metres of dirt. His second win in three starts. “Stripesof Stars is still a big baby”, Niels believes, “but he oozes class”.
Soulofchess (Gutaifan) won emphatically in his only start this year at Øvrevoll, and Chadwick (Ekspert Eye) has several times run up with the best of his crop.
Niels Petersen also mentioned Mozart and Facone, who are both unraced. The Le Havre son Mozart is owned by Karin Salling, and he was bred at Stutteri Hjortebo. Facone is by the American Grade 1 winner Creative Cause, and he has until now been stabled in France.
A GOOD TWO-YEAR-OLD TEAM AND SEVERAL OLDER CLASS HORSES ARE READY FOR NEXT YEAR.
Niels Petersen expects to have a fine two-year-old team of 12 horses ready for next year. In addition there may be some breeze-up purchases.
Among other things Karin Salling has two fillies bred at Stutteri Hjortebo. One is to go into training at Klampenborg and one at Øvrevoll. There are also four yearlings on their way home from France, where they have been bought at a sale.
As already mentioned, a number of Niels Petersen’s best horses, Kick On, Square De Luynes, Tuwaiq and Bullof Wall Street, were mostly on the sidelines this year, but they are all expected to be ready for next season.
There they will be supplemented by this year’s older stars King David, Could Be King and White Heart, who has been gelded, and Niels Petersen was able to report that his two star mares, Ascot Brass and Iron Butterfly, are both taking another season.
And then it remains to be seen how Hear The Drums and, for example, the very promising Zarak son Chianti, who has just won at Øvrevoll, will cope in older top company.
THE WINDOW IN SCANDINAVIA IS TOO NARROW.
Niels Petersen has achieved almost everything you can as a Scandinavian trainer. And as he says himself “It does not come by itself”. Among his strengths he mentions that he is able to play his cards right, that he knows his ‘opponents’, and that not everything is ‘by the book’.
And Niels never forgets to mention the invaluable support he gets from his sister Marianne. “I am busy, but my sister makes sure I am in safe harbour. She is a fantastic judge of a horse, and it is she who feeds the horses and looks after their welfare”.
Niels is not resting on his laurels. He hungers for more. He will go on exploring new possibilities. He would like to extend the season, so that there are more opportunities for his owners.
“The winter break in Scandinavia is too long. In Norway in particular the climatic challenges are great. The window becomes too narrow with a season that in reality only lasts from June to the end of September”.
That is why he now goes to Dubai every year, and right now he is putting together this year’s Dubai team. And he is very much looking forward to King David’s Bahrain trip. It will be a new and exciting adventure.
“But the stays are too short. The stability is missing, and Niels is a little envious of his European colleagues,who have a longer racing season, far better training conditions and better climatic conditions than we have in Scandinavia”.
THE FAMILY HAS TO BE LOOKED AFTER TOO.
The mobile rang. It was Niels’ son Frederik. He is 13 years old, and he was home alone.
Niels’ long-time partner, Camilla, was at a riding event with their daughter. “Frederik is a good golfer”, Niels mentioned, “and he is very interested in racing, and he follows closely how my horses are getting on”.
His daughter Julie, 17, is taken with show jumping, and she is on the Norwegian national team. Her wish is to finish school soon, so that she can continue her career in Belgium.
Camilla, who is the daughter of Hans Petter Eriksen, the former director at Øvrevoll, knows the racing world better than anyone. “She is an enormous support to me day to day”, Niels mentioned. “A great deal rests on her shoulders”.
