Epic Bling won her debut by nine lengths and was rewarded with a rating of 84 — only two two-year-olds in Scandinavia stand higher. On Wednesday she meets Francisco Castro’s unbeaten Matteusinthejungle in the Skånelandlöpning. Five runners, 200.000 Swedish kronor and 1600 metres on Jägersro’s dirt track.
Nine lengths on debut
Epic Bling (War Front) has one start behind her. On 4 October she won the Stig Holms Pokal over exactly 1600 metres on Jägersro’s dirt track by nine lengths.
Handicapper Nicholas Cordrey answered with 84. On the Scandinavian two-year-old list only two stand ahead of her: her stablemate Romanov (Starspangledbanner) on 87 and Voix Du Maitre (Appel Au Maitre) on 85 — and none of the three has lost a race.
Epic Bling was bred in the United States by Fred W Hertrich III and John D Fielding, runs for Bling Enterprise and is trained by Niels Petersen with Carlos Lopez in the saddle.
Two out of two at Jägersro
Matteusinthejungle (Bungle Inthejungle) has never lost either. He won a maiden at Jägersro on 29 August over 1200 metres by a length and took the two-year-old race over 1600 metres at the same track on 14 October by a nose from Lady Is Back (Starman).
Maikel Narvaez Bravo has ridden him every time.
He is trained by Francisco Castro for Bn Bygg Malmö and Jörgen Scherman, has earned 90.000 Swedish kronor and meets on a rating of 75 — nine below Epic Bling’s.
The other three
Lady Is Back is out for revenge against Matteusinthejungle. She won a maiden at Bro Park on 26 September over 1200 metres on turf by a length and a half, and Per-Anders Gråberg rides her again for Roy Arne Kvisla.
Caledon Boy (Calyx) has the second highest rating in the field on 79 and is the richest of the five with 94.500 Swedish kronor. He won a maiden at Bro Park on 21 August by two lengths, was third in the Appel Au Maitre Svealandlöpning on 20 September and sixth in the Mr Ascot Vinterfavoriternas Pris on 18 October.
But all of his races so far have been run on turf.
Storm Shadow (Appel Au Maitre) is Danish all the way: trained by Tina Mortensen and both owned and bred by Lokalebasen.dk.
She won a two-year-old maiden in Denmark on 22 August by a length and a half, was fourth in the Herman Kallings Mindeløb Dansk Kriterium at Klampenborg on 5 September and sixth behind Epic Bling in the Stig Holms Pokal.
Last year the debutant beat the favourite
Niels Petersen, Carlos Lopez and Bling Enterprise won the Skånelandlöpning last year — then too with a horse that had never run before.
Bullet Bling (Violence) won on 29 October 2025 by four lengths in 1.40,2, and Francisco Castro’s favourite Papa Joe (Kodi Bear) suffered his first defeat: he had won both his starts and carried the highest rating in the field, 80. Ferrari BF (Mo Town) was third.
Bullet Bling has since finished fourth in the Svenskt Derby and most recently won the Mischa Kahns Minneslöpning at Bro Park on 18 October.
No filly on the roll of honour
The Skånelandlöpning has been run since 2012.
Fourteen runnings have produced fifteen winners, and not a single filly. 2015 stands with two winners, as Duke Of Burden (Footstepsinthesand) and Suspicious Mind (Appel Au Maitre) shared the victory. Thirteen geldings and two colts.
If Epic Bling, Lady Is Back or Storm Shadow wins on Wednesday, it will be the first time.
The shared race in 2015 turned out to be an unusually strong contest. The following year Duke Of Burden won the Svenskt Derby for Lennart Reuterskiöld Jr, and Suspicious Mind, bred at Stutteri Hjortebo, won the Dansk Derby for Niels Petersen.
Two two-year-olds who could not be separated at Jägersro each took a Derby as three-year-olds.
