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The English page - Welcome boost for German classic form?

Autor: 

David Conolly-Smith

TurfTimes: 

Ausgabe 535 vom Freitag, 14.09.2018

It is often believed that mares that are in foal can show dramatically improved form as a result of hormonal changes. This is not always the case, and indeed our handicapper colleague Harald Siemen has in his weekly blog demonstrated that statistics do not back up this theory at all. However it certainly happens sometimes, as in the case of Clear Water (Hard Spun), easy winner of last Sunday´s listed event over seven furlongs at Düsseldorf, Germany´s only black type race last weekend.

Clear Water raced in second place behind frontrunner and hot favourite Millowitsch (Sehrezad) before overtaking him a furlong and a half from home and quickly going clear to score by two and a quarter lengths. Millowitsch kept on for second with Schäng (Contat) third. As Millowitsch and Schäng are regarded as two of Germany´s best performers over this distance, and both had run respectably last time in the Group Two Goldene Peitsche, this result was quite a shock for the locals, particularly as both trainer Michael Wigham and jockey Josephine Gordon were making their German debuts. Going into the race the above-mentioned German pair were rated more than twenty pounds superior to Clear Water, previously just a moderate handicapper but getting weight from them both, yet there was certainly no fluke about the result. Siemen has reacted by putting Clear Water up fourteen pounds, from a rating of 84 to one of 98. This is academic, as she will not be allowed to race any more, being now 120 days in foal (to Postponed).

However it makes her a more valuable proposition as a broodmare, as a listed winner from a good family. She was bred by Darley in Ireland and originally raced for Godolphin, before Wigham bought her for 52,000 guineas at Tattersalls 2017 February sale – in retrospect a smart move by the Newmarket trainer. Her second dam is the outstanding Crimplene (Lion Cavern), who followed up her win in the German 1,000 Guineas over this course in the year 2000 by winning in quick succession the Irish 1,000, the Coronation and the Nassau Stakes.

The other significant race at Düsseldorf was the BBAG sales race for two-year-olds over seven furlongs. Django Freeman (Campanologist) started at 22-10 second favourite and ran out a very easy winner after taking the lead early on the straight and quickly putting the race to bed. This was a very convincing performance and trainer Henk Grewe immediately nominated the Preis des Winterfavoriten as his next race. There he will again meet Quest the Moon (Sea The Moon); the pair had both made their debuts in a Munich maiden at the end of July, where Django Freeman won, but Quest the Moon was one of the unluckiest losers of the season, having been carried wide at the entrance to the straight and losing about ten lengths in the process. Quest the Moon won the Zukunftsrennen at Baden-Baden next time out and is also on course for the Winterfavorit. Django Freeman was bred by Fährhof and sold as a foal at Deauville; this seems to have been a pinhooking attempt which did not work out, but connections will now be happy to own a colt who is now joint favourite (with Quest the Moon) for next year´s German Derby.

We saw another possible for that far off race in Munich on Sunday, when Andreas Wöhler´s Ladykiller made an impressive debut over a mile, making all and not being hard pressed to win by four lengths. Bred by Karlshof, this Kamsin colt cost his owner Rennstall Gestüt Hachtsee 33,000 euros at the BBAG Yearling Sale last year and looks very well bought. Unfortunately Kamsin did not get much support from German breeders and is now covering N.H. mares at Haras d´Etreham for 3,000 euros. Kamsin , who won the German Derby and Grosser Preis von Baden in 2008, is arguably the best son of Samum (Monsun), another above average German Derby winner; his main claim to fame now is as the sire of this year´s Grand Steeplechase de Paris winner, On the Go, but he seems a similar case to Shirocco, another son of Monsun who won the German Derby and now covers N.H. mares in Ireland. Shirocco has sired N.H. champions such as Annie Power, but also has 2017 German Derby winner Windstoss running for him and there seems no reason why Kamsin should also not produce stars on the flat. Certainly Ladykiller looked good and will clearly relish the Derby trip next year.

Stamina will also be required for this week´s big race, the Deutsches St. Leger at Dortmund on Sunday. As the Doncaster and the Curragh versions of the oldest classic are also being run this weekend, the Dortmund is rather overshadowed, but it is still an interesting race. The Doncaster version is now the only St. Leger restricted to three-year-olds, a true classic in other words, and certainly does not suffer thereby. The Dortmund version has ten declared runners, only three of them are members of the classic crop and all three are trained by Markus Klug. Valajani (Jukebox Jury) looks easily the best of them on form, but the fact that stable jockey Adrie de Vries has chosen to partner their four-year-old stable companion Adler (Adlerflug) is probably a pointer to their chances. Another son of Adlerflug, Stall Ullmann´s Moonshiner I one of the main dangers; he was runner-up here last year in what was a much stronger race on paper. However there is a strong British challenge here, and the results of the past few weeks suggest that this could be another race for export. John Best has supplemented Eddystone Rock (Rock of Gibraltar), but Archie Watson´s six-year-old Brandon Castle (Dylan Thomas) looks the bigger threat. He is lightly raced, stays well and and the form of his early season victory at Musselburgh reads very well.

From the German point of view, the most significant races of the weekend will be run at ParisLongchamp on Sunday, when two of our highest-profile three-year-olds face strong opposition. Royal Youmzain (Youmzain) runs in the Prix Niel; the Andreas Wöhler-trained colt was third in both the German Derby in July and in the Grosser Preis von Berlin a month later, but he is almost certainly better than this form. Jean-Pierre Carvalho has declared the Ullmann homebred Well Timed (Holy Roman Emperor) for the Prix Vermeille, another Arc trial but an important race for fillies in its own right. Well Timed finished only fourth on her only start at two, but has won all her four races this year, including the Preis der Diana, in good style and she is clearly the top German filly of her crop by quite a margin. German classic form has taken a few knocks in recent weeks; these two could be the ones to give the form a much welcome boost.

David Conolly-Smith

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