Stockholm Cup International: Nastaria defends her title against War Socks and a 10-year-old legend

Bro Park hosts the biggest race day of the Stockholm season on Sunday with eleven races, the first off at 13.20 and two contests worth SEK 1,000,000 each: the juvenile Magic Million and the feature, the Stockholm Cup International (Gr.3) over 2400 metres on turf at 17.10. The first prize in the Stockholm Cup is SEK 500,000.

Nine horses go to post, and at the head of the field stands the defending champion. The 7-year-old Nastaria (Outstrip) won last year’s running easily by 2½ lengths from Claymore and Espen Hill, and it was her first group win.

Number two came this summer, when she took the Fürstenberg-Rennen (Gr.3) over 2400 metres at Hoppegarten on 19 July – according to Deutscher Galopp she is the first 7-year-old mare to win a group race in Germany. Three weeks later she won the Steherpreis (L) over 2800 metres at the same track, and most recently she was second in the Steher Stutenpreis (L) at Hannover on 16 August, where Ruby Lips and Sibylle Vogt beat her by 2½ lengths.

Earlier in July she was also second in the Langer Hamburger (L) over 3200 metres. Anna Schleusner-Fruhriep trains and owns the mare, who was bred by Mette Campbell Andenæs, and Jozef Bojko rides her again.

The most dangerous challenger comes from Norway. The 4-year-old War Socks (Kameko) won the Marit Sveaas Minneløp (Gr.3) at Øvrevoll on 25 August in a track record – 1.45.4 over 1800 metres – and the win was Niels Petersen’s tenth in the race. War Socks has also been on the road in England with a 25th place in the Royal Hunt Cup and a seventh at Goodwood. Carlos Lopez rides War Socks, who has never been beaten at Bro Park.

Danish breeding is represented as well. Schamyl (Appel Au Maitre), bred at Stutteri Hjortebo, won both Svenskt Derby and the Norwegian Derby in 2024 and added Svenskt St. Leger. After a year and a half out through injury the 5-year-old returned this summer and won the Oslo Cup (L) in early July ahead of his stablemate Zakopane.

Jan-Erik Neuroth saddles both: Schamyl for Stall Petterøe’s Mix with Nicolaj Stott, Zakopane (Zarak) for Stall Perlen with Oliver Wilson. The pair were sixth and seventh respectively behind War Socks in the Marit Sveaas.

Two others have the form at the track itself. Optimus Bling (Frankel) has won his last two starts over Bro Park’s 2400 metres – most recently on 21 August, when the Niels Petersen-trained 5-year-old beat Disraeli (Barocci) by a head. Disraeli, for his part, has been second in three of his last four starts for Patrick Wahl and has Jacob Johansen in the saddle.

And then there is Espen Hill. The 10-year-old gelding is trained and ridden by Madeleine Smith, won the Stockholm Cup in 2023, was second in 2020 and third last year. The field is completed by Claymore (New Bay), runner-up in the race last year and a one-time winner in England this season for Jane Chapple-Hyam with David Egan, and by Tobias Hellgren-trained Double Ux.

The Stockholm Cup International has had distinguished winners in recent years: Square De Luynes took it in both 2020 and 2021, Hard One To Please won in 2022, Espen Hill in 2023, Best Of Lips in 2024 and Nastaria last year.

The other million-krona race of the day is the Magic Million over 1400 metres on turf at 14.35, where 15 juveniles line up. Patrick Wahl has seven of them, among them Rhiannon (Mustajeeb) with Jacob Johansen and Schakalen (Jimmy Mack) with Carlos Lopez.

At 15.00 comes the Tattersalls Nickes Minneslöpning (L) over 1600 metres on dirt, where Niels Petersen’s Lord Mountbatten (Connect) and the English Crown Board (Lope De Vega) share the highest rating on 95. Lord Mountbatten won the Valley Chapel Memorial (L) on Swedish Derby day in July.

At 15.25 follows the Appel Au Maitre Svealandlöpning over 1400 metres on turf, one of the most important juvenile races of the year in Scandinavia, and here the most talked-about 2-year-old in Scandinavian racing takes his next assignment.

Elkær Stutteri’s Romanov (Starspangledbanner) is unbeaten in three starts for Niels Petersen: first the winning debut at Øvrevoll in early July, then the Goffs Futurity Stakes on Klampenborg’s Derby day, where he won by half a length from Killian and Mallee Sand, and most recently the Norsk Kriterium on 23 August, where he was in a class of his own ahead of Al Rihla. Carlos Lopez rides him again.

“This horse is so good that he deserves to be tried outside Scandinavia,” Niels Petersen said after the Norsk Kriterium, where he also named the Svealandlöpning as one of the targets.

The opposition is the strongest he has met. Søren Jensen-trained Mallee Sand (Footstepsinthesand) has improved since their August meeting and was most recently second by a head in the Danish Criterium at Klampenborg, where Stepdance caught everyone out.

Waleed Zawawi’s filly has Oliver Wilson up. Al Rihla (Caturra), second in the Norsk Kriterium, returns for Kieran Watson with Lorenzo Putzulu, and L.T. Racing’s Space Memory (Space Blues) comes from Veronika Jandová’s stable at Klampenborg – he has been second in both his starts.

The rest of the field counts three late-summer winners: Caledon Boy (Calyx) from Bro Park, Beeorenottobee (Bee Jersey) from Göteborg and Jack Dawson (Cotai Glory) from Jägersro, plus Mr Handsome (Bayside Boy), who was second by a head on his debut at Øvrevoll. The first prize is SEK 200,000.

In the Bro Park Sprint Championship (L) at 16.15 Lamborghini BF (Holy Roman Emperor) and Youonlyliveonce (Sidestep) meet the English Washington Heights (Washington DC), who comes from Kevin Ryan’s yard with Tom Eaves. Niels Petersen saddles three of the nine sprinters.

The Lanwades Stud Stakes (L) at 17.48 is the race for fillies and mares over 1600 metres, with Cathrine Erichsen’s Irish Lioness (Invincible Army), Søren Jensen-trained Sunday Fudge (Reliable Man) and Taifuu (Japan), and Lea Olsen-trained Zarina (Appel Au Maitre) among the runners.

The day opens with two jump races – H.M. Drottningens Pris over 3800 metres of hurdles and H.M. Konungens Pris over 4200 metres of steeplechase – and closes at 18.15 with the amateur riders’ Prix de l’Ark.