A two-day postponement, a criticised turf track and an abandoned Sunday. And then, all the same, an evening Øvrevoll will be talking about for years. Stall GM’s Super Smooth (Quarterback) won the Range Rover Norsk Derby over 2400 metres and collected the NOK 651,250 first prize. Behind the horse stands Gina Mathisen as owner, breeder and trainer – and in the saddle was Willa Synøve M. Schou.
“This is incredibly big, and it means an enormous amount to me. And not least it is a victory for all the girls in the sport. We did it,” said an emotional Willa in the winner’s enclosure.
She rode a tactically strong race, was up with the pace throughout, went for it at exactly the right moment and had an answer when Carlos Lopez came flying with Bling Enterprise’s Phantom Bling (New Bay) in the straight.
There was three-quarters of a length between them at the line, while Phantom Bling‘s stable companion Lord Greystoke (Ulysses) was third for Glæsner Racing ApS. Both are trained by Niels Petersen.
The last two places in the frame were shared between Jan-Erik Neuroth’s Nouvelle Fleur (Study Of Man) and Cathrine Erichsen’s Miss Alti (Lucky Vega), who could not be separated at the line.
The Danish hope, on the other hand, was a disappointment. Stald Shaker’s Cosmopolitan (Make Believe), who won the Bucherer Danish Derby earlier this month, struggled all the way and finished last of the 12 runners to complete the course.
“It went exactly as we had hoped. I got a few lengths, and at the same time I knew that Carlos would be coming closer towards the line. I gave everything, and fortunately we had a little left to answer with,” Willa said.
For Gina Mathisen, the highly respected amateur trainer from Andebu, it was doubly sweet, because Super Smooth is her own breeding, out of the Norwegian-born broodmare Smooth Escape. His sire Quarterback (American Post) won the Norsk Derby himself for Rune Haugen back in 2015.
“This race has been a target for us all the way. Winning the Norsk Derby is the biggest thing you can experience on a racecourse. That we can do it with our own breeding on top of that is of course enormous,” she told Øvrevoll, adding: “It goes without saying that we have to celebrate this.”
The win came after a difficult time.
“I have to thank everyone who has helped and supported me. I have been through a tough period, lost both my mother and my father, and a lot of thoughts went through my head over the line. I pointed to the sky. I am very grateful for this win and for the fact that things are going so well for me at the moment,” Willa added.
Vanessa Ryall became the first female jockey with a Derby win at Øvrevoll in 2017, when she won on High As A Kite (Manduro).
Nine years on, Willa Schou is the second – and it has hardly happened before that a female trainer and a female jockey have won a Derby together.
