Vinterfavoritternes Ærespræmie: the Criterium runner-up meets the Produce Stakes winner for DKK 250,000

Klampenborg hosts the Højgård Hestehospital Vinterfavoritternes Ærespræmie over 1600 metres on Saturday. Nine two-year-olds will share DKK 250,000, of which DKK 125,000 goes to the winner — and with the win comes the role of winter favourite for the Danish Derby.

The race is one of the nine features Klampenborg publishes as early as February, alongside the Danish Criterium, the Goffs Futurity Stakes and the five Classics.

The name says what is at stake: the winner goes into the winter as favourite for next year’s Derby, and the history backs the name up. Cut Champion (Final Appearance) won in 2000 and followed up as a three-year-old by taking both the Danish 2000 Guineas and the Danish Derby, while Lady Clementine (Richard Of York), who won the race in 2003, took the Jydsk Derby the following year and later became the dam of Derby winner Sir Henry and Guineas winners Harbour Light and Beaufort Twelve (all three by Academy Award).

Since Just Pile It (Prince Mab) won both the Vinterfavoritternes Ærespræmie and the Danish Derby in 1993/1994, it has happened only four more times: the aforementioned Cut Champion in 2000/2001, Peas And Carrots (Final Appearance) in 2005/2006, Inchiline (Songline) in 2008/2009 and most recently Suspicious Mind (Appel Au Maitre) in 2015/2016.

Last year Beethoven (Goken) provided the surprise and handed Cosmopolitan (Make Believe) his only defeat of the season. Cosmopolitan, for his part, went on to win this year’s Derby.

The best form, and no win

Søren Jensen’s Mallee Sand (Footstepsinthesand) has the best form in the field and still no win to her name. Waleed Zawawi’s homebred filly, out of the Oaks and Breeders’ Cup winner Malekha (Juniper Tree), has three starts behind her and has been placed in all of them: beaten a head by Stepdance (Al Shemali) in the Danish Criterium, third in the Goffs Futurity Stakes on Derby day and most recently second in the Appel Au Maitre Svealandlöpning at Bro Park, on both occasions behind the dominant Romanov (Starspangledbanner). Oliver Wilson rides.

Closest to her on form are two who also come out of features. Bettina Andersen’s La Belle Appelée (Appel Au Maitre) won the Stutteri Hjortebo Produce Stakes on 18 July by half a length and has Josefin Landgren in the saddle, while Niels Petersen’s gelding Huntington (Hunter’s Light) was third in the Danish Criterium and is ridden by Carlos Lopez.

Four by Appel Au Maitre

Appel Au Maitre, who leads the sires’ list with DKK 1,801,490 as at 30 September, has four of the nine runners. Besides La Belle Appelée they are Lea Olsen’s Chacaya and Azisol and Kajsa Lindsjö’s Eko Eleganze.

Chacaya won at Klampenborg on 5 September and was fourth in Dansk Galops Auktionsløb, where Azisol came home next in fifth.

Bent Olsen’s Goodmorningmoo (Moohaajim) was second in the two-year-old maiden on 19 September, and in the same race Rikke Rohbach Bonde’s Icelady Carlras (Oasis Dream) finished third.

Finally there is Transvaal Train (Churchill), trained by Tobias Hellgren for Mette and Dean Olsen. She is a half-sister to the couple’s own Danish Derby winner Titannia — who, incidentally, was also by Appel Au Maitre — and made her debut with a third place at Øvrevoll behind Voix Du Maitre (Appel Au Maitre).

Neither Voix Du Maitre nor Criterium winner Stepdance is among the nine runners on Saturday.

The card consists of eight races, 71 horses and DKK 548,000 in prize money. The first race is off at 12.45, and the Højgård Hestehospital Vinterfavoritternes Ærespræmie is run at 14.15 as the fourth race of the day.