German racing

Fantastic Moon (Ger) has emulated his sire Sea The Moon (Ger) not just by winning the G1 Deutsches Derby but now also in being crowned German Horse of Year for 2023. The colt, owned by Liberty Racing, won the oldest public vote in the history of German sport, which took place on his fourth birthday, March 21. "We are very proud of this title. Fantastic Moon absolutely deserves it," said Lars-Wilhelm Baumgarten, the co-founder of the colt's ownership syndicate Liberty Racing. "His magnificent victory in the 2023 German Derby and his...

Susanne Born will has been selected as the new press officer at Berlin-Hoppegarten Racecourse, announced the venue via press release on Friday. A veteran of similar positions in Hannover and Baden-Baden, Born will work to develop effective communication strategies for the international media sector as well as a focus on the long-term strengthening of the presence and perception of horse racing in Germany's capital region. "The mission is clear: Born should increase public enthusiasm for our sport. A particular focus is on gaining new fans and media partners who recognise...

The second session of the BSA August Two-Year-Old Sale proved more adventurous than the first as four of the five seven-digit purchases came during the portion of the event. The crowning draft arrived in the form of Lucrative (Saf), who topped the sale at R1,400,000 and cemented Vercingetorix as the top sire with an aggregate of R7,300,000 from 12 lots sold. The jewel of the Maine Chance Farms (pty) Ltd. consignment, the bay daughter of Querari (Ger) mare La Collossa (Saf) hails from a busy Group-winning and performing family including...

The world's largest globally commingled horse racing pools, created and powered by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, will now include both the Irish and German Derbys for the first time on Sunday, July 2. Germany's richest race, the G1 Deutsches Derby, will mark the inaugural time the World Pool has operated in the country and will also be available two hours later for all eight races on the G1 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby Day card from the Curragh. "The various international Derbys carry particular importance in Hong Kong across...

The 153rd Grosser Preis von Baden, which has doubled in value to €400,000 for 2023, has drawn 46 entries at its early closing stage, including 10 from Godolphin and seven trained by Joseph O'Brien. On the home front, defending champion Mendocino (Ger) (Adlerflug {Ger}) takes top billing for trainer Sarah Steinberg, and his compatriots with entries include last year's Deutsches Derby winner Sammarco (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) and Tunnes (Ger) (Giuliani {Ger}), the half-brother to 2021 Grosser Preis von Baden and Arc winner Torquator Tasso (Ger) (Adlerflug {Ger}). Last year's G1...

There is a charming tradition for the large crowd at Baden-Baden races to applaud the runners as the field passes the post for the first time, never mind in the closing stages. For Sunday's racegoers, many of whom arrived with well-behaved dogs and sometimes less well-behaved children, the excitement level reached near-fever pitch as Frankie Dettori urged home German racing's current hero, Torquator Tasso (Ger). At the post the pair went down by just a head to the winner Mendocino (Ger), another son of Adlerflug (Ger) ridden by the man...

The German breeding industry was dealt a blow this week with the death of 17-year-old Adlerflug (Ger). In 2020, the Gestüt Schlenderhan stallion wrested the German sires' championship from another son of In The Wings (GB), Soldier Hollow (GB), who was runner-up and who had the highest number of winners overall. Soldier Hollow had previously been champion sire in 2016, 2018 and 2019. Adlerflug, whose grandam Alya (Ger) (Lombard {Ger}) was a sister to Allegretta (GB), the dam of Urban Sea (Miswaki), hails directly from the family of Galileo (Ire)...

There can be no better breeding home run than for a mare to produce a Derby winner as her first foal. In the case of Gestüt Röttgen's homebred Wellenspiel (Ger) (Sternkoenig {Ger}), this auspicious entree to her stud career happened not once but twice, with her first two foals both becoming winners of the G1 Deutsches Derby. Windstoss (Ger) (Shirocco {Ger}) and his half-brother Weltstar (Ger) (Soldier Hollow {GB}) are the product of nine generations of Röttgen breeding, stretching back to the purchase of one of the stud's first mares,...

Following a decision taken at a meeting of the Deutscher Galopp board on Monday night, German races will remain closed to international starters from nations which currently do not allow foreign runners. This will include the first Classic of the German season, the G2 Mehl-Mulhens-Rennen (2000 Guineas), which is set to be run on Monday at Cologne. A statement released on the German racing authority's website read, "Deutscher Galopp is clearly and unreservedly committed to an open Europe. The free movement between partnered racing nations is a cornerstone of thoroughbred...

   Germany's unbeaten Horse of the Year Rubaiyat (Fr) (Areion {Ger}) went postward as the 3-10 favourite for his eagerly awaited seasonal return in Sunday's G3 Dr Busch-Memorial at Berlin's Hoppegarten venue and, while stablemate Wonderful Moon (Ger) (Sea The Moon {Ger}) reigned supreme trialling for Hamburg's July 12 G1 Deutsches Derby in Friday's G3 Cologne Classic, he was more workmanlike maintaining his perfect record in this dress rehearsal for Cologne's June 1 G2 German 2000 Guineas.    Darius Racing's bay swept through a juvenile campaign which began with an...

An ambitious concept to counter the ongoing disruption caused to Germany's racing finances by the COVID-19 lockdown, initiated by entrepreneur and racehorse owner Lars-Wilhelm Baumgarten along with Guido Schmitt and Christian Sundermann, has succeeded in its objective. The idea is based on popular television entertainment show "Wetten, dass..?", which subjected contestants to viewer-determined forfeits if unable to complete bizarre tasks. In one case, a blindfolded farmer successfully recognized his cows by the sound they made while chewing apples. However, in this sporting scenario, the trio declared they'd find 100 people...

Deutscher Galopp has announced that no runners trained outside Germany will be allowed to race in the country before the end of May. German racing is set to resume behind closed doors on Monday, May 4 at Dortmund. The first Pattern races, the G2 Carl Jespers Preis and the G3 Cologne Classic, will be held the following Friday in Cologne. British-based trainer Karl Burke had been hoping to send a runner for each of those contests but, following an announcement by the German racing authority on Wednesday, he will not...