Breeding & Racing in Germany

This German racing proverb means literally “fitness beats class” and implies that in the early weeks of the season, horses with current form can often defeat higher-rated horses coming off a break since last season. This applies particularly to the early classic trials, as we saw last weekend in Germany when the two most important races, both classic trials, were won by horses that had already had a run this season, and they defeated several fancied horses from the big stable who were making their seasonal debut. Of course, it is quite possible that they won because they were the best horses in the race, but time will tell, and this writer would not be at all surprised to see the form overturned in high summer.

The only racing in Germany for the past 12 days was staged at Cologne last Sunday, a mammoth card with 12 races including the Group Two Carl Jaspers-Preis for 4yo´s and up over 2400 metres as well as three interesting races for 3yo´s with several classic clues. The Group Two race, previously known as the Gerling-Preis, was the best race run here so far this year. The field of six included ther 2017 German Derby winner Windstoss (Shirocco) and stable companion Kaspar (Pivotal), both Gestüt homebreds trained by Markus Klug, local hopes Sunny Queen, trained by Henk Grewe and winner last year of the Group One Grosser Preis von Bayern, and two trained by Peter Schiergen, top stayer Quian (Mastercraftsman) and Nerium (Camelot) as well as consistent Dato (Mount Nelson).

There was plenty of racing over Easter worldwide and some very surprising results. The most valuable race in Europe was the Irish Grand Narional at Fairyhouse on Easter Monday, which went to the 150/1 shot Freewheeling Dylan, who had been bought for a mere 13.000 euros as a 3yo store at Goffs Land Rover Sale, and earned over 15 times that amount here. It was the highest winning SP ever in the race, but at Hong Kong the main event, the Group Two Sprint Cup went to the 178-1 (!”) chance, the NZ-bred Amazing Star, who had  been sold as a yearling for NZ$ 30,000 (about 18,000 euros if my information is correct) and picked up a huge amount here.

It looks as if the long winter is finally over and the turf season is now under way. Last Sunday we had the first turf fixture of 2021 in Germany, a low level affair in Krefeld, but with two interesting 3yo winners (see below) while we also had the first group race on grass of the season at Saint-Cloud – the Prix Exbury, in which German raider Grocer Jack finished a respectable fourth, and there was also racing at the Curragh, while this weekend Doncaster will mark the traditional start of the season in the U.K. with two listed races and the Lincoln Handicap, a reference to the fact that this meeting was originally held at the now defunct Lincoln Racecourse, which began operations in 1763 and closed down in 1964.

The winning run of German-bred N.H. stallions in British and Irish races over jumps continues, and hardly a day goes by without another winner sired by Getaway, Aizavovski, Maxios, Ocovango,  Network, Salutino, the full brothers September Storm and Shirocco, and two more brothers Samum and Schiaparelli – all of them of course sons of Monsun. Getaway is probably the current star; he stands at Coolmore´s Grange Stud in Fermoy, Co. Cork. He is in fact the most expensive of Coolmore´s N.H. sires – who also include three more sons of Monsun – at 9,000 euros. This might sound like peanuts compared to the prices charged for Galileo and other flat stallions at Coolmore, but Getaway has been covering huge books and 9,000 multiplied by 250 or more soon adds up to a nice sum.