The English page - Front-runners to the fore

We shall ignore the turbulence behind the scenes and concentrate entire on the action on the turf during the long Easter weekend. In all there were six meeetings and it is estimated that some 50,000 racegoers were on the course to enjoy some excellent racing, helped by wonderful late spring weather. The weather has been mainly dry for the past few weeks, ads it hads been over most of Western Europe and the ground was mainly riding fast, which was no doubt the reason for the fact that many of the top races were won by front-runners.

The three main meetings were at Hoppegarten on Sunday, with three listed races, Cologne on Monday with the Group Two Carl Jaspers Preis (previously known as the Gerling-Preis), and also on Monday Hanover, with another listed race. For all three tracks it was the first fixture of 2022.

Hoppegarten is one of the stiffest tracks in Germany, and front-runners here rarely come home. But one trainer/ jockey combination managed this twice on Saturday, Toni Potters and Sibylle Vogt. First up was Navratilova (Morpheus), who just held on to take the listed mile event for 4yo+ fillies and mares by a head from the fast-finishing French raider Chic Cherie (Muhaarar) at odds of almost 32:1. It was a brilliant ride by Vogt, who showed once again that she is up there with the best of them, especially when making the running. This was a much-improved performance by the Irish-bred winner, who was giving her sire – a half-brother to superstar Frankel- his first ever black type success.  

An hour later trainer and jockey were back in the winner´s enclosure after Angelika Muntwyler´s homebred Mansour (Tai Chi) had made all to win a listed race over 2000 metres. Although the winning margin here was only three parts of a length, Mansour won very comfortably and was never in serious danger. 5yo Mansour is much improved and his rating has gone up to German GAG 94 (=international 108). He could go next for the Group Two race at Baden-Baden´s May meeting. where he would be up in grade and also in distance, but after winning his last three races, all listed events, he certainly deserves this chance. Runner-up Best of Lips (The Gurkha), having his first race since his easy win in the Union-Rennen last June, also ran a good race and should also win decent races this year.

The third Hoppegarten listed race was over 2800metres and a trial for the Oleander-Rennen at the May meeting here. It was won by a horse coming off the pace, the 7yo gelding Lord Leoso (Pastorius), another much-improved performer who was winning his third race in succession after two wins in lesser company. He had changed hands for only 8,500 euros only a few days earlier and was one of several recent bargain price winners. Lord Leoso scored easily enough here by three lengths, it will be interesting to see if he can maintain his upward trend in the Oleander-Rennen, when he is likely to meet several of these opponents again, plus some new ones, including no doubt some Irish raiders.

Lord Leoso is trained by Sascha Smcrzek in Düsseldorf, right now the hottest trainer in Germany and he followed up the very next day by taking Cologne´s Group Two Carl Jaspers Preis over 2400 metres with another longshot, the 6yo entire Dato (Mount Nelson), bred by Newsells Park in the days when it was still German-owned. Dato had repeatedly been placed in black type races; this was his seventh career success, but his first at this level. He is well known as a front-runner and made the running here, but jockey Encki Ganbat rode a canny race, slowing it up, and had plenty in hand to hold the favourite Alter Adler (Adlerflug) by three-quarters of a length. That one was having his first race since October, and possibly Dato, who had already run this year, had a fitness advantage. Alter Adler had been a rather unlucky runner-up in the German Derby last year, and was also runner-up in Deauville and Rome; his turn will undoubtedly come soon.

Hanover´s main event on Easter Monday was a listed race over 1300 metres, which was won very easily by French-bred Waldersee (Olympic Glory). The 4yo is trained by Andreas Wöhler, another trainer already in top form, and scored so easily that it is hard to imagine any German-trained sprinter beating him this year. There were runners from four differernt countries in this field, but none made any impression. Waldersee is now likely to run next in the Silberne Peitsche at Baden-Baden at the end of next month, a race in which he was runner-up last year. It was then a Group Three event, but has now been demoted to listed level, and it will be interesting to see if any foreign raiders turn up, as always used to be the case. They will in any case have to be smart to defeat Waldersee, who despite his name is not a member of the celebrated Ravensberg “W” family (Waldpark, Waldgeist etc); however that certainly does not stop him from being a very useful performer.

That Hanover race was for 3yo´s and up, but in fact there were only two 3yo´s in the field of eleven and neither of them finished in the first four. Otherwise all the black type referred to here were for older horses. There were of course several races for 3yo´s at the weekend as well, and we saw some definite classic hopefuls in action. This Sunday we have the Dr. Busch-Memorial at Krefeld, usually the best trial for the Mehl-Mülhens-Rennen (German 2,000 Guineas) and we shall take a more detailed look at the classic scene next week.

David Conolly-Smith