The English page - The lull before the storm

The period between the end of Baden-Baden´s Spring Meeting and the start of Hamburg´s Derby Week, which starts on the Saturday of next week, is always rather quiet. There were only two black type races in the past week, a listed race for 3yo fillies over 2100 metres at Düsseldorf, which ended with one of the most exciting finishes of the year, and then a Group Three over 1400 metres at Dresden, the first ever group race run at this track. From the German point of view the race was a disaster with a French-trained winner whose official rating would not normally entitle him to be considered seriously for any black type event, let alone a group race. This was Brian Ryan, a 4yo gelding by Finjaan, who now stands in Morocco;  Brian Ryan at least had fitness on his side, as he had already run ten times this year, winning five times, but all at a very low level.  He had been claimed out of a “reclamer” by his present German connections, but is still trained in France by Andrea Marcialis.

A French winner was expected here, as Godolphin´s Broderie (Pivotal), trained by Henri-Alex Pantall, was a hot favourite after his easy win at Hanover last time, but he was not in such good form here.  Brian Ryan was drawn on the outside, and Maxim Pecheur took him straight into the lead, racing wide but soon moving over to the inside; he was tackled at the 300 metres marker by Waldpfad (Shamardal), who took a narrow lead at the distance but Brian Ryan fought back gamely and was a neck in front at the line. it was certainly a good ride by Pecheur, who is currently leading the German jockeys´ statistics, but a poor result for the locally-trained runners, who with the exception of Waldpfad, all underperformed quite considerably.  The handicapper has now raised Brian Ryan by no less than 11.5. kilos to a new official rating of GAG 90.5 (=international 101), but that is still below the level normally expected  of a group three winner. Brian Ryan, bred in the U.K. by David Curran, is distantly related to Irish Derby winner Law Society and St. Leger winner Simple Verse, but it is clear that seven furlongs is his ideal trip and it will be interesting to see if he can confirm the form. That German-breds rarely shine over this distance is clear, but even so, this was a bad result for German racing.

As far as the future in concerned, the fillies´ race at Düsseldorf was probably more informative. Mark Johnston´s  Vivid Diamond (Cape Cross) started favourite, but that was probably mainly because of her trainer´s excellent record in Germany, and she was meeting several fillies here with classic ambitions. In the event Vivid Diamond could only take fifth place, as three homebreds from top German stables fought out a thrilling finish. Schlenderhan´s Mythica  (Adlerflug) made the running, closely attended by Ebbesloh´s Durance (Champs Elysees); these two seemed to have race between them at the distance, but then Brümmerhof´s Diamanta (Maxios) suddenly appeared on the scene and came with a late charge on the outside. With the naked eye it was impossible to tell who had won, but the camera showed Durance the winner by a short head from Mythica, with Diamanta a head away in third.

Durance is not entered in the Preis der Diana, and trainer Peter Schiergen indicated that she will not be supplemented; however both Mythica and Diamanta are being aimed at the race and ran good trials here; Diamanta would have won in a few more strides and could well reverse the form next time out, but Mythica is also well regarded, and trainer Jean-Pierre Carvalho said she would run next in the Mülheim Diana-Trial on July 14^th. Diamanta had earlier won her maiden in good style from Gestüt Niederrhein´s homebred Naida (Reliable Man), who franked the form with a very easy maiden win at Cologne on Monday, and is also being aimed at the Mülheim race.

This weekend we also have one Group Three race and one listed classic trial on the progamme, both on Sunday. The Grosser Preis der Wirtschaft at Dortmund is run over the neutral distance of 1750 metres, and is traditionally the first race of the year in which the better three-year-olds take on their elders. Unfortunately there is no 3yo in the field this time, and most of the runners are old acquaintances. French-trained but German-owned Volfango (Dutch Art) finished fourth in the Badener Meile last time, with Palace Prince (Areion) fifth, Kronprinz (Lord of England) sixth and Melodino (Dabirsim) and Degas (Exceed and Excel) in the last two places. Degas and Palace Prince finished first and second in this race last year, but on the evidence of the Baden-Baden race the main opposition to Volfango should come from 8yo Potemkin (New Approach), who is having his first race of the season but would have a great chance if anywhere near his best form.

The Derby trial at Hanover, exactly a fortnight before the big race, is a last ditch chance for Derby runners to qualify, but looking at the current betting on the Hamburg classic it does not seem  likely to have much bearing on the big race. Peppone (Pastorius) is 20-1 for Hamburg, but he was disappointing at Baden-Baden, while Woodking (Le Havre) is 33-1 and Beam Me Up (Sea The Moon) is 50-1. None of the other runners is quoted at less than 100-1. Peppone looked very promising when winning his only start last year and must be given another chance, and the same goes for Beam Me Up, who has not run since finishing sixth in the Bavarian Classic at Munich on May 1^st. The form of that race has worked out extremely well. However the two trainers concerned, Andreas Wöhler and Markus Klug respectively, both have other more fancied runners in the Derby, so it will need a convincing performance from this pair, or indeed from any of the other runners, to make much of a ripple in the Derby betting.

David Conolly-Smith