Despite Charlie Appleby's efforts to give Hawkbill (Kitten's Joy) a break, the 4-year-old refuses to rest idle and is back after just a month off at Hoppegarten on Sunday for the G1 Grosser Preis von Berlin. Last in Germany when third behind Guignol (Ger) (Cape Cross {Ire}) and the re-opposing fellow Godolphin representative Racing History (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}) in the G1 Grosser Preis von Bayern over this trip at Munich in November, the 2016 G1 Eclipse S. hero has since established himself at a mile and a half with wins in the G3 Aston Park S. at Newbury on May 20 and the G2 Princess of Wales's S. at Newmarket on July 13. “I was delighted with Hawkbill at Newmarket and this will probably be his last race before we give him a break ahead of the Canadian International in October,” Appleby said. “He is in good shape and, if he can repeat his performance in the Princess of Wales's S., he will take some beating.”
Racing History, who hails from the Saeed bin Suroor stable, is staging his comeback having been absent since the Grosser Preis von Bayern but is highly effective when fresh as he showed when finishing sixth after a year off in the 10-furlong G1 Champion S. at Ascot in October. Fourth in the 2015 renewal of that feature, the full-brother to Farhh (GB) has enough class to figure prominently despite his trainer expecting him to need this reintroduction. “Racing History has been working well. We are putting some cheekpieces on him just to help him focus during the race,” he explained. We have done as much as we can at home, but I expect him to improve for his first start of the year.”
Heading the home team is Dschingis Secret (Ger) (Soldier Hollow {GB}), who looks to forward his case as Germany's leading middle-distance performer. Successful by six lengths from the 2014 winner of this race Sirius (Ger) (Dashing Blade {GB}) in the G2 Gerling-Preis at Cologne on May 7, last year's G1 Deutsches Derby third beat the subsequent G1 Grosser Dallmayr-Preis scorer Iquitos (Ger) (Adlerflug {Ger}) by 3 3/4 lengths in Hamburg's G2 Grosser Hansa-Preis on heavy ground on July 1.
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