The English page - Dramatic week at Baden-Baden

The Grosse Woche at Baden-Baden is now history and it must be said that on the whole the meeting must be rated a huge success. A new management team, Baden Galopp, took over last year; this was their biggest test and they came through with flying colours. Crowds were good, about 16,000 on the final day, the weather (mostly) fine and betting turnover also good enough, although slightly below expectations as a result of the small fields in some of the top races. We saw lots of classy racing and some thrilling finishes. There was also plenty of work for the stewards, and several jockeys received suspensions, including one very prominent name (see more below)

The Grosser Preis von Baden, generally regarded as Germany´ best race, was once again the highlight, despite the fact that only four ran and all of them German trained. The main interest in the race was the clash between Germany´s best older horse, the 5yo Torquator Tasso (Adlerflug), last year´s winner and since then winner of the Arc and runner-up in the King George, and the top 3yo Sammarco (Camelot), winner of his last three races including the German Derby. This was “the duel of the year” screamed Germany´s racing newspaper the Sport-Welt, but as so often it did not work out like that.

The other two runners, both 4yo sons of Adlerflug (who thus had three of the four runners) were certainly no back numbers. Alter Adler had won the main race at the Spring Meeting here (with an unfit Torquator Tasso well beaten) and had also been runner-up in the 2021 German Derby, while Mendocino had been runner-up to Alpinista in the Grosser Preis von Bayern last November but had never yet won a black type race and was now coming off a break of three months after three below par performances in France in the spring. To add spice to the mix, Mendocino, was not only trained by Sarah Steinberg, but also owned by Stall Salzburg (Hans-Gerd Wernicke), to whom Rene Piechulek, Torquattor Tasso's regular rider, is contract jockey. Piechulek was therefore committed to ride Mendocino while Frankie Dettori was booked for Torquator Tasso, who started here at odds-on while Mendocino was the outsider of the field at just under 8-1.

It was clearly going to be a tactical race, with no obvious front-runner. Alter Adler was first to show in front, but he was a reluctant leader and the pace was very slow. Torquator Tasso was close up on his outside, Sammarco a close third and Piechulek happy to sit in last place on Mendocino. There was little change until they reached the dogleg two and a half furlongs out, when the race began in earnest. Torquator Tasso was challenging Alter Adler for the lead, with Sammarco also coming strongly into it. The three were almost in line two out, where Sammarco appeared to give Torquator Tasso a bump, however the latter then took the lead and looked briefly like winning. But we had all reckoned without Mendocino; Piechulek had waited the longest, and now came with a strong run on the outside. Torquator Tasso fought back gamely, but Mendocino had the better speed and nailed him just before the line to win by a head. Sammarco was 1 ¼ lengths back in third and Alter Adler another half length back.

Mendocino and Torquator Tasso are both entered in the Prix de l´Arc de Triomphe; while it is no surprise that it has always been the intention for the latter to return to Paris and try to defend his crown, the fact that the former was entered in May is an indication of the high opinion in which he has always been held. Piechulek will be in the saddle again, while Dettori was immediately after the race booked for the ride by Torquator Tasso´s team. But first he had a date with the stewards, and they hit him with a 14 day suspension for overuse of the whip – standard procedure under German rules. At first Dettori thought that the ban would prevent him from riding in the Arc, but fortunately it soon became clear that the suspension would rule him out of the first day of the Arc meeting, but that he would be free to ride on the second and main day.

We will thus have two plausible German-trained contenders in the race, and while Torquator Tasso has the better overall form, there could be little in it. Obviously the Grosser Preis von Baden was not run to suit Torquator Tasso. The Arc, with a large field, plenty of cover, and a proper pace would be much more up his street. However Mendocino won here on merit; it was a brilliant ride by Piechulek, a brilliant piece of training by Steinberg and a pretty good call by the owner as well.

The handicapper has moved Mendocino´s rating up to GAG 99 (=international 118), up eight pounds, while Torquator Tasso is adjudged as being slightly below his best on GAG 100 (=120), Sammarco to have confirmed his Derby rating of  97½ (115) and Alter Adler to have run up to form on 97 (113).

It was certainly an unlucky day for Dettori, also beaten a head in the main supporting feature, the Group Two Brunner-Oettingen Rennen over a mile. He was aboard French-trained Hurricane Dream (Hurricane Cat), who was short of room early in the straight but came flying at the finish and would have won in a few more strides. Victory went to the 3yo Dapango (Soldier Hollow), who was down in trip after running below form in the Derby. But the Derby form continues to work out well and the previous day had seen the 4yo Amazing Grace (Protectionist) take the Group Two Zastrow Stutenpreis, defeating his stable companion India (Adlerflug) by 1 ½ lengths to give trainer Waldemar Hickst his fourth winner in this race in the last eight years. While the 3yo´s were beaten here, Amazing Grace herself had been a good runner-up to Sammarco in Munich´s Grosser Dallmayr-Preis. Amazing Grace, a homebred of Christoph Berglar´s, confirmed her rating of GAG 94 ½ (109) here so the form generally looks solid. We shall know more after the Preis von Europa at Cologne in a fortnight, where both Sammarco and Alter Adler are expected to run, as will possibly Sisfahan (Isfahan) the 2021 German Derby winner.

There are just over 2,000 horses in training in Germany, barely enough to support a full programme of racing. 49 races were run during the Grosse Woche, so about 20% of the entire number were in action, including just about every black type performer. This does not leave much for this weekend, and racing is at a generally low level for the near future. The only black type race coming up is Düsseldorf´s Junioren-Preis on Sunday, a listed race for 2yo´s over a mile. Seven are expected to line up, including British raider Crackovia (Cracksman) from the Johnston stable. The filly ran well in a strong race at Salisbury last time out, she is well drawn on the inside, and we can well imagine her making all the running under Jack Mitchell.

David Conolly-Smith