The English page: A busy Whit weekend!

The highlight of a busy Whit weekend in Germany's was Monday´s 31^st running of the Group Two Mehl-Mülhens-Rennen (German 2,000 Guineas) at Cologne, which ended with a narrow victory for the favourite Knife Edge (Zoffany), owned by Coolmore, trained by Marco Botti in Newmarket and ridden by Ryan Moore – just twenty-four hours after the jockey had won the French equivalent at Deauville for another Coolmore runner, that one trained by Aidan O´Brien. It was the eighth success in the race since the turn of the century for a British-trainer runner, and the second for Botti (after Excelebration in 2011).

On his previous start Knife Edge had been just touched off in the Greenham Stakes, but that classic trial, normally run at Newbury, had been switched to the all-weather at Chelmsford City, and with only three runners that race was difficult to interpret, although the form had been boosted when Log Out Island, clear last of the trio, reappeared  to win a listed race very easily last week. Knife Edge paid only 8-5 on the course tote, too little really in view of the bare form, but punters had latched on to the booking of Ryan Moore and Botti´s fine record in the race  - his only other runner in the race had finished second last year.

The expected pacemaker missed the break, and with nobody else wanting to make it, Ryan Moore quickly elected to make the pace himself. The field was closely bunched as they swung into the straight, when it seemed that the two greatest threats to the favourite would be Noor Al Hawa (Makfi), in Jaber Abdullah´s first colours, and the local favourite Millowitsch (Sehrezad), winner of the main trial and trained by Markus Klug. However Knife Edge kept going and soon saw off this pair, but a new danger now appeared in Degas (Exceed and Excel),Klug´s second runner,  who came from a long way back with a terrific late flourish. He almost got there, but the photo showed that Knife Edge had held on by a nose. “He was only idling in front,” said Moore, “and was not doing more than absolutely necessary. He is a very nice horse, a big scopey sort and I think he has plenty of improvement to come.”

Knife Edge is from the first crop of Zoffany, the top first season sire last year, and who stands at Coolmore for 45,000 euros. His bottom line however is all German, and he was actually sold as a yearling at the BBAG sale for 43,000 euros to his Irish connections, less than his sire´s current fee. He is from a top Schlenderhan family, his dam, the unraced Monsun mare Attalea being an own sister to listed winner Andorn, while his second dam is a half-sister to German Derby winner and promising sire Adlerflug (In The Wings); the fourth dam Alya (Lombard), herself runner-up in the German Oaks, is a full sister to Allegretta, dam of Urban Sea and thus almost omnipresent in top European pedigrees now thanks to her grandsons Galileo and Sea The Stars.

Of course it was tough on Markus Klug, whose two runners finished a nose second and fourth, but both ran well enough, as did Noor Al Hawa in third; the latter was not suited by the very fast ground – the forecast heavy rain never materialized-  but the same goes for the winner and some of the others as well. Stall Darius` Parvaneh (Holy Roman Emperor), the only filly in the field, was certainly not disgraced in fifth, but will be racing against her own sex again next time. Where the winner goes next is unclear; both Botti and Kevin Buckley, representing the owners, were non-committal on this point, but Royal Ascot is a possibility, as is the Secretariat Stakes at Arlington Park.

Despite Parvaneh´s defeat, it was another good weekend for Darius Racing, as their four-year-old Wasir (Rail Link) made all the running to win Sunday´s Group Three Oleander-Rennen over two miles at Hoppegarten. He showed considerable improvement here, and there should be more to come. He is entered in the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot, and the intention is to run there. His stable companion Alex My Boy (Dalakhani) started 6-4 favourite to win this, but was always being held; trainer Andreas Wöhler has always made it clear that Alex My Boy is dependent on very soft ground, and although he is also entered at Ascot is unlikely to run there. We are more likely to see him next in France, as there are very few suitable races in Germany for extreme stayers.

The other weekend race which must be mentioned is the listed Derby Trial run over eleven furlongs at Hanover on Monday, which has frequently had a strong bearing on the Hamburg classic. Boscaccio (Mount Nelson), locally trained by Christian Sprengel, started at odds-on, made all the running and scored by three lengths. He was bred by Gestüt Fährhof and sold privately to Rainer Hupe & Friends, a Hamburg syndicate. He is unbeaten after three easy wins and is now clear ante-post favourite for the Deutsches Derby; he is distantly related to dual Arc winner Treve from the family of Trillion (his sixth dam) and Triptych, and doubts about his stamina seem to have been resolved by this convincing victory. One of his main opponents will be seen out this Saturday, when the Ullmann stable´s Savoir Vivre (Adlerflug), an impressive winner of his only start so far, runs in a minor event at Mülheim.