The English page: Three in a row ...

As suggested in last week's column the Gerling Preis, Germanys feature event of last week, proved, well – not easy pickings, but was ultimately won with authority by Schlenderhan Studs homebred Adlerflug son Ito. It was a case of “three in a row” for Trainer Jean-Pierre “Chippi” Carvalho, who won the Gr. II event, ran over 1m4f at Cologne racetrack, with Ivanhowe and Guardini in 2014 + -15, both of Schlenderhan origin as well. The 5yo entire Ito benefited from a masterful tactical ride by pilot Filip Minarik who took the bull by the horns, set a strong pace and never saw another rival, even though main opponent Sirius (T: Andreas Löwe J: Stephen Hellyn) slipped through on the inner to run the winner pretty close. The Gerling Preis, open to older horses only of course, is a traditional starting point for last year's Classic generation, with many former German Derby winners among it's winners, and third-placed Fair Mountain, who filled the same position in the 2015 Derby, should prove a decent yardstick.

The race was, too, the first leg of German Racings newly founded Champions League, a racing series of 11 major domestic races from 10 furlongs upwards, it´s a mix of races restricted to the classic generation, colts and fillies, and older horses. Horses as well as trainers and jockeys contesting League races earn points akin to their finishing position (10-6-4-2-1 points respectively), with a grand final in Munich in November where the winners will earn 1.5 times that figure and the Champions will be crowned.

For the first time in years League races will be shown on FreeTV on a regular basis too, with a short round-up presented on News-Channel Ntv later in the evening. Winning trainer Carvalho was quick to point Ito towards the “Großer Preis der Badischen Wirtschaft” at Baden racecourse on the 29^th of May, the next leg of the Champions League. Ito, a flashy son of Derby-winner Adlerflug, himself a son of In the Wings, is a regular to this column. Now a seven-time winner up to Gr. ILevel, he simply is Germanys best older horse at the moment, with his tender handling in early years (he was unraced at two and not extended at three, rather typical of Germany´s late developing stock) paying off in spades. He did represent Germany in last year’s Japan-Cup, but could never feature there.

The second highlight of last weekend was the Listed Frühjahrs-Meile (Spring Mile), won by Brümmerhof Studs homebred Shamardal son Wildpark, on whom jockey Filip Minarik, thus riding a big-race double, again made all, with his willing partner eventually storming home by 3 length. In doing so, the gelding beat Sir Mark Prescott's runner Celestial Path, who could finish only 4^th, among others. It was a first big point for rookie trainer Melanie Sauer, daughter of late trainer Norbert, who took over Gregor Baum's training facility in Hannover towards the end of last year, where she now acts as Public trainer (with Brümmerhof providing the lions share of her horses). It also was an extra-sweet day for Czech-born jockey Minarik, who, having lost his position as stable jockey for Schlenderhan last year, took the very job with Sauer at the beginning of this season and had the best of both worlds.

On an otherwise rather quiet domestic weekend German horses made a splash abroad as well, namely in Italy where Eckhard Sauren's Diplomat (T: Mario Hofer, J: Dario Vargiu) won the Gr. II Premio Presidente della Repubblica in style; he was the only foreign runner in a field of seven, with five of the runners provided by either Stefano or Endo Botti. Group races were staged at Milan too, albeit over obstacles, and Bremen-based trainer Pavel Vovcenko took two horses and very nearly came home with two winners: but while 4yo Stafettino, who only recently switched codes after proving reluctant to start on the Flat, read the script to win a Gr. II Novice Hurdle, stable star Kazzio failed by a small margin in a stop-and-start running of the Grande steeple chase Di Milano, Gr.1. One must not forget to mention a Listed domestic jumps race at this point; Mannheim´s “forest track” staging the 113^th Running of the Badenia Steeplechase, won easily by Samum´s daughter Audientia, trained by Marion Rotering and ridden by British jockey Mark Quinlan.

There is some class action to look forward to in Germany this weekend: Berlin Hoppegarten stages an “Irish raceday”, backed by the Luke Comer-Group (visitors wearing all-green will get in for free), where races include the prestigious Oleander-Rennen (Gr. III, 2m), formerly run at Baden-Baden, and a valuable Auction race. Bank holiday (Whit) Monday will see the first Classic of the domestic season with the 145^th running of the German 2000 Guineas, re-named the Mehl-Mülhens Rennen in 1986. The Gr. II event over a mile has attracted a stellar field of 10 highly promising colts, among them the Marco Botti-trained Knife Edge who will be ridden by none other than Ryan Moore. Botti is no stranger to this particular race, having won it with stable star Excelebration in 2011, while the race in general is a rather regular “victim” to foreign raiders, with names like McCabe, Haggas, Channon or Brittain – just to name a few – among the winning trainers. On a 10-race-card, Germany´s colorful Skewbald Silvery Moon and a horse named Kasalla are further attractions, with the latter sharing her name with a popular local boygroup due to play a concert after racing.  Meanwhile at Hannover, current ante post favorite Boscaccio, trained by local trainer Christian Sprengel, puts his reputation on the line in the Listed Hannover Derby Trial, run over a 1m3f.