German success in feature as Scandinavian talent shines on Stockholm Cup International Day
22 September 2025 09:28
Flags of all nations represented at this year’s Stockholm Cup International Day flew around the parade ring at Bro Park welcoming international visitors and reflecting the cosmopolitan nature of Swedish horseracing’s showpiece on Sunday, 21 September.
In addition to attracting many of the top horses from Scandinavian countries, eleven runners from Germany and the UK made the journey to Stockholm in search of Black Type form and excellent prize money on a day when local talent shone.
The thirteen-runner Listed Lanwades Stud Stakes was dominated by the two early leaders. Tina Mortensen’s Blueridge Silver partnered by Sweden’s top jockey Per-Anders Graberg, who had earlier taken the 1600m Listed Tattersalls Nickes Minneslöpning on the popular US-bred home horse Twirling Ghost in a high-quality Scandinavian field, was upsides Capitana Bling trained in Norway by Silja Storen for much of the race with the latter ultimately claiming victory under Manuel Martinez.
Despite making rapid progress to fourth position out of the turn in the in the 1600m Turf contest Luke Morris’s mount Overture, trained in Newmarket by Sir Mark Prescott and runner-up at Listed level in Germany last time, soon faded and could only finish tenth, one place behind last year’s winner Little Arabella and a place in front of compatriot Kieran Shoemark aboard Tom Clover’s luckless Rajindari.
Capitana Bling took the Listed Lanwades Stud Stakes
Morris looked determined to make amends in the following 1400m handicap for two-year-olds and broke well from a wide draw on Archie Watson’s Sioux Perfect, winner of a valuable Newmarket sales race last month, only to be overhauled in the closing stages.
Jenson Soren’s late wide outside run sealed victory and a third win form four career starts for Oliver Wilson’s Taifuu with Morris and Sioux Perfect an eventual fourth.
The twelve-strong field for Scandinavia’s biggest race the Group 3 Stockholm Cup International included two German challengers in Nastaria, sent out by this year’s German Derby winning trainer Anna Schleusner-Fruhriep, and established stayer Lion’s Head previously placed at Listed and Group 3 level.
Jane Chapple-Hyam’s Hungarian Group 1 winner Claymore who made the journey from Budapest to Stockholm last week, carried the hopes of the British.
Under former Champion Jockey Silvestre De Sousa Claymore maintained an early lead from a low draw and a quick break but the close tracking Nastaria always looked a danger. When Joseph Bojko asked his mount to quicken, a rallying effort by Claymore and De Sousa was not quite enough to hold off the six-year-old mare with the hugely popular Espen Hill, who won the race in 2023 ridden by his trainer Madeleine Smith a gallant third.
Nastaria was the winner of the feature race, Stockholm Cup International (Gr.3)
International visitors were also represented in the Listed Bro Park Sprint Championship which delivered another fourth place finish for Morris, this time aboard Archie Watson’s Kylian in a race dominated by Carlos Lopez and Fredrik Reuterskiöld’s Lambourghini BF. German challenger War Bride, runner-up in a Group 2 last time, finished in sixth place with British fancy American Style last of the nine runners.
Sweden has a real sprinting star in Lamborghini BF, who won the Listed Bro Park Sprint Championship
Brodie Hampson faced four rivals in the opening H.M Queen’s Prize a 3800m hurdle for four-year-olds and upwards on the Archie Watson-trained Clearisthewater, a Point to Point winner who was last seen finishing mid-division in a maiden hurdle at Chepstow in February. Comfortable tracking the leaders for most of the first circuit while Elliot Ohgren dictated the early pace on the locally-trained Beck, Hampson began steadily making ground and was the only challenger when Christopher Roberts and the Tobias Hellgren-trained New York Strip took it up at the third last. However, an untidy jump at the final hurdle was academic as the winner extended his lead to take a commanding victory with Hampson forced to settle for second.
Svensk Galopp’s Director of Racing Dennis Madson said, “We were delighted to receive so many entries from the UK and Germany and we are grateful to their owners and trainers for supporting our sport. I hope our prize money and hospitality will continue to attract more runners from other major European racing nations.
“We staged a very competitive card and saw some outstanding performances from our locally trained horses which is a good reflection of the standard of racing here in Scandinavia. Sweden has a real sprinting star in Lamborghini BF and it will be exciting to see Fredrik Reuterskiöld travel abroad with this horse.”
