The English page: The Hamburg German Derby meeting is now in full swing

The Hamburg German Derby meeting  is now in full swing and the weather has been the main topic of conversation. It seems that there are only two kinds of weather here in July, either a brutal heatwave (like last year) or non-stop rain, as has been the case this week. As a result the going is extremely testing, there have been a lot of non-runners and crowds are much smaller than normal. However we have seen some smart performances in the feature events, which have all so far been won very easily.

Shy Witch (Areion) set the ball rolling on the opening day with a convincing success in the fillies´ mile race, beating the consistent yardstick Nymeria (Soldier Hollow) by 2 ¼ lengths. This gives a boost to the form of the German 1,000 Guineas, in which she was runner-up to Hawksmoor. Shy Witch is trained at Hanover by 73-year-old Hans-Jürgen Gröschel, who is having his best ever season, and was ridden by 45-year-old Scotsman Ian Ferguson, who is also having a great run.

The following day saw the most significant performance of the week so far when Protectionist (Monsun) ran away with the Group Two Grosser Hansa-Preis, a race he had won in 2014 en route to his triumph that autumn in the Melbourne Cup. That victory was a great achievement by trainer Andreas Wöhler, but the way that he has brought the six-year-old back to top form this year, after he ran eight times unplaced in Australia for Kris Lee, is no less praiseworthy. The opposition looked strong on paper, but Protectionist brushed them aside in the straight with the minimum of fuss;  it was an armchair ride for stable jockey Eduardo Pedroza, who, with the tremendous stable form behind him, can also do no wrong at present.

Wöhler did not want to commit himself to future plans for Protectionist, although it can be assumed that his Australian owners would not mind another Melbourne Cup. However a crack at a European Group One over a mile and a half now seems the preferred option, possibly the Grosser Preis von Berlin at Hoppegarten.  The horse clearly runs best with some cut in the ground, and the trainer stated that, in view of all his past problems, he would take it “race by race.”

Possibly the most surprising result of the week was the success of Schäng (Contat), the only three-year-old in the field, in the Hamburger Flieger-Trophy over six furlongs. He led at halfway and clearly revelling in the conditions, had the race won before the furlong marker. He is trained at Bremen-Mahndorf by Pavel Vovcenko, who also trained his sire, and is another handler in red hot form. He is to be aimed at the Goldene Peitsche, where he will presumably meet Wöhler´s Shining Emerald, Germany´s top sprinter – but he could possibly be a threat to that triple “whip” winner.

Wöhler and Pedroza were back in the winners´ enclosure after  Rock of Romance (Rock of Gibraltar) had won the Langer Hamburger  over two miles by nine and a half lengths.  He raced alone up the inside rail, while the runner-up  Summershine (Three Valleys) came up the stands rail, but it seems the ground is equally bad everywhere. Today (Thursday) is a fine day, but more rain is expected tomorrow (Friday) and the going will definitely be a problem at the weekend, even though the race club and the stewards have made a wise decision in cancelling Friday´s six (!) trotting races.

Obviously Sunday´s IDEE 147^th Deutsches Derby, the most valuable race in the German calendar, is now the focus of everybody´s attention. 19 runners have been declared, including two foreigners, Norwegian-trained Our Last Summer (Zamindar) and the supplemented Landofhopeandglory (High Chaparral) from Ireland. The former´s chance seems very slight indeed, but the latter, who represents the all-powerful team of Aidan O´Brien and Ryan Moore, is a different kettle of fish. Ryan Moore has in fact a 100% record in Germany this year, having won the German 2,000 Guineas on Knife Edge on his only other start here. That one also ran in the dark blue of Sue Magnier, but was trained by Marco Botti in Newmarket.

Landofhopeandglory is quoted at 9-2 second favourite by local bookmakers, but those odds  reflect more the respect in which the O´Brien/ Moore team is held than a sober look at his form. He is the most exposed runner in the race, having run four times last year and five times already in 2016, his last two starts being a fourth place in the Queen´s Vase at Royal Ascot and then a second place in the Curragh Cup, both of which races were won by his stable companion Sword Fighter. In terms of handicap ratings, Landofhopeandglory is only seventh, which suggests that he must improve plenty to have  chance of winning. However in his favour is the fact that he is clearly tough and also stays well. He is out of a German dam and is closely related to Waldpark (Dubawi), who won this race in 2011.

According to the handicapper the two with the best chances are Wai Key Star (Soldier Hollow) and Boscaccio (Mount Nelson). The former  is trained by Wöhler and has Pedroza on board, while the latter is trained by Christian Sprengel at Hanover and will be ridden by Dennis Schiergen. He has won all his four races so far and looks a worthy favourite, even though a line through El Loco (Lope de Vega), number three here and runner-up to both of them earlier,  gives Wai Key Star a slight advantage. Dennis is the son of Cologne trainer Peter Schiergen, who saddles three runners, with his younger son Vinzenz on Nimrod (High Chaparral). However they are all longshots, and the best outsider might be Wöhler´s other runner Isfahan (Lord of England), who he bred himself and will be ridden´by Italian jockey Dario Vargiu.

David Conolly-Smith