The English page - Nyaleti outclasses the local fillies

There have been several outsider winners in this year´s European Guineas races, but this was not the case at Düsseldorgf last Sunday, when the Mark Johnson-trained Nyaleti (Arch) started as 23-10 favourite and ran out a very easy winner of the WEMPE 98^th German 1,000 Guineas, Bred in Ireland by SF Bloodstock, Nyaleti, who was running for the twelfth (!) time, had shown some very smart form at two, including a five lengths success in Ascot´s Princess Margaret Stakes, she was regarded as a live candidate for the Newmarket Guineas, but a couple of poor efforts in the spring caused her connections to scale down their expectations. However she showed better form when beating older fillies in a listed race at Goodwood and showed at Düsseldorf that she was right back to her best when accounting for a devent field of locally-trained fillies with the utmost ease.

As usual there was a mad dash to the fist bend, with several runners badly hampered in the scrimmaging, and it was Suada (Maxios) who found herself in the lead with Malakeh (Harbour Watch) in second. Nyaleti always had a prominent position in third or fourth  and Joe fanning pushed her into the lead over a furlong and a half out. Go Rose (Soldier Hollow) looked briefly dangerous on the soutside, but Nyaleti quickly asserted and strode clear for a clearcut victory by four and a quarter lengths from Malakeh, who just pipped Go Rose for the runner-up sport, with Suada fourth.  The horses hampered at the start never got a look in and must be given another chance – notably Indah (Dabirsim) and Queens Harbour (Harbour Watch), but they would never have beaten Nyaleti, who was by far the best horse in the field and it basically a one-horse-race.

Nyaleti was bought by her trainer for 40,000 guineas at Book One of the Tattersalls October Sale and no looks a real bargain. Sher has an international pedigree, with close relations winning black type events in France, the USA and Australia, and it will be interesting to see where she goes from here. Connections suggested after the race that Newmarket´s Falmouth Stakes or Arlington Park´s Beverley D, both Group One races, could be possible targets. The handicapper has given her a provisional rating of 110.

We are now in the middle of Baden-Baden´s Spring Meeting, which also includes the BBAG breeze-up and horses in training sale today (Friday). This was the sale at which Danedream (Lomitas) was sold for only 9,000 euros in 2010, surely one of the greatest bloodstock bargains of all time. She won the following year´s Arc and a year later the King George, as well as two editions of Germany´s most prestigious race, the Grosser Preis von Baden, run just a few hundred yards down the road from the BBAG sales ring. Her career winnings of over 3.6 million euros made her until recently the winningmost German-bred horse in history – until last week in fact, when she was overtaken by the Wittekindshof-bred Pakistan Star following his second Group One victory in Hong Kong. He was an Arqana sale graduate and was rather more expensive, but still in retrospect a bargain and another great advertisement for German breeding.

The most important races this weekend are the Group Three  Preis der Annette Hellwig Stiftung – Silberne Peitsche over six furlongs on Saturday and the Group Two Preis der Badischen Wirtschaft over eleven on Sunday. The “silver whip” is one of Germany´s top spring races and an obvious trail for the “golden” version run at the big summer meeting. Both these races feature some familiar faces, as most of these runners have met repeatedly. The field for the Silver Whip includes the 2015 and 2016 winner Shining Emerald (Clodovil)as well as Artistica (Areion) and Daring Match (Call me Big), first and second here last year. Also of interest is Scapina (Tai Chi), who showed improved form to win a listed race over this trip at Dortmund last time, beating six of these opponents-.

Those old friends Guignol (Cape Cross) and Iquitos (Adlerflug) both make their 2018 debut in Sunday´s race. Not only did they finish first and second in this race last year, but they also finished first and second in Germany´s two top races of 2017, the Grosser Preis von Baden and the Grosser Preis von Bayern. They face some tough opposition, notably Oriental Eagle (Campanologist) who showed considerable improvement to win the Gerling-Preis four weeks ago from Colomano (Cacique) with Walsingham (Camponologist) a close fourth. At these weights Colomano, so often a bridesmaid but rarely a bride, has a good chance of finally get his head in front again.

However the most interesting race at Baden-Baden on Sunday could be the Group Three Ittlingen Derby Trial over ten furlongs. Seven three-year-olds line up, three of them trained by Andreas Wöhler, including Jaber Abdullah´s Royal Youmzain (Youmzain), currently clear ante-post favourite for the Deutsches Derby at Hamburg on July 8^th. A convincing performance here will strengthen his position at the top of the Derby market.

David Conolly-Smith