The English page - Underdog victory in the first Group race

Last weekends racing in Dusseldorf featured Germanys first Group race of the year. The Frühjahrs-Meile (1mile) for 4-year-olds and upwards attracted a strong field of twelve including two from France, Gamestop (Lope de Vega) from Christophe Ferland´s stable and from Yann Barberot´s stable the favorite at 3/I for the event, American Flag (Wootton Bassett). Whereas Gamestop ran a game race to finish fourth having had every chance at the furlong marker, American Flag never really got involved to finished fifth behind a German trio. Last year's winner See Hector (Counterattack) having been prominent throughout looked the likely winner when he took over from Gamestop at the 300 meter (1 ½ f) mark, but he was being tracked by the 4-year-old Arcandi (Zarak) and this one was produced to perfection by Sibylle Vogt to get the better of See Hector by a neck in a tough battle. Running on strongly from way back was Best Lightning (Sidestep) hitting the frame having finished 5th behind Sea Hector in this race in 2023.

The winner Arcandi, trained by Peter Schiergen in Cologne for the Gestuet Ebbesloh has been lightly raced till now. He won on debut in Berlin Hoppegarten as a two-year-old in 2022 and unfortunately was injured after his run in the Dr. Busch Memorial in April 2023. Given the rest of last season off, he was also gelded in his time out and he reappeared in February this year in a conditions race in Chantilly finishing midfield before having another run on heavy ground in Saint Cloud early March. He was well prepared for his first German start of 2024 season.

The 3-year-old maiden over 2100 meters (1m 2 ½ f) on the day, was won by the Gestuet Roettgen's, Reliable Man daughter, Erle. The likeable grey filly was always in the front rank and stuck to her task really well when challenged by the favorite Queimados (Sea the Star) from the Andreas Woehlers stable. These two fillies could be involved in better races during the season.

Looking onwards to this weekend's racing and while we have racing on Saturday in Zweibruecken, a small country track and Dresden on Sunday morning, all eyes will focus on Cologne on Sunday afternoon which should be a spectacle for all racing fans.

Feature race of the day is the Group II Carl Jaspers Preis over 2400 meters (1 ½ m) for the older brigade. It looks like being a small field with at the moment only five runners standing their ground but what it lacks in quantity it definitely does not lack in quality. All five have won at group level and two of them at the highest level. Assistent (Sea the Moon) one of two candidates from the Henk Grewe stable, won here at the track on the first of April by an easy 6 lengths in a listed race in prep for this. He won this last year before going on to win the Grosser Hansa Preis Group II in Hamburg. Thore Hammer Hansen rides. His stable mate Mr. Hollywood (Iquitos) accompanies him here. The second from last years Derby and the Grosser Preis von Baden Group I, showed he is in fine fettle when defeating Fantastic Moon in Berlin Hoppegarten just over two weeks ago when ridden by Andrasch Starke. As Starke is stable Jockey for Markus Klug, he is required to ride Tünnes (Guillani) for his stable here this time leaving a good opportunity for fresh young talented Jockey Leon Wolff, who gets the leg up on Mr Hollywood.

Starkes mount Tunnes was a winner of three of his four races in 2022 including the Group I Grosser Allianz Preis von Bayern in Munich, before finishing ninth in the Japan Cup that year. He only had three runs last year finishing 4th in the Coronation Cup at Epsom and filling same position in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud Group I. Sammarco (Camelot), the 2022 Derby winner, will be the mount of returning champion Bauyrzhan Murzabayev and though not winning in seven attempts last season, all at Group level, he was never far away. The field is made up by Lordano (Adlerflug). He advanced to be Germany’s leading stayer last year, winning four of his six start and is the mount of Rene Piechulek. He will probably start as the outsider as he is better over further, but he is very tough and has room to improve. It has the makings of a classy race despite the size of the field.

While the main event has quality, the second Group race of the day has that as well as quantity. The Schwarzgold-Rennen, Group II, for the three-year-old fillies over 1600 meters (1m) is very interesting. Eight fillies have stayed in the event with the highest rated being the Andreas Suborics trained Lady Mary (Lawman) off a German mark of 91. She ran three times at two, winning on debut in Baden-Baden and returning to that track for her final start finishing second in the Preis der Winterkoenigin Group III. Martin Seidl will ride as he did in both afore-mentioned races. Suborics second runner and mount of French Jockey Hugo Boutin is the Gestuet Faehrhofs Quetame (Saxon Warrior). She won her only start at two. 

Young Trainer Maxim Pecheur and the Gestuet Roettgen, who are 4 wins from 5 starters till now rely on Waria (Areion). She won on debut, was listed placed at two and has a start under her belt this year when 3rd in Mulheim. Top stable Peter Schiergen also runs two. Analytics (Brametot) is the mount of stable Jockey Bauyrzhan Murzabayev. She won on debut at two at the smaller Leipzig track. Sibylle Vogt rides the Gestuet Etzean homebred Royal Night, an Acclamation filly, that has done nothing wrong, winning her maiden at the second attempt last year before obtaining black type with a second place in listed company in Hannover.

To add a bit of glamour to the event Queues Likely (Massaat) makes the journey from England for trainer Stanl Moore. She will be ridden by shooting star and last years British Champion Apprentice, Billy Loughnane. The filly, another with a lot of experience has managed to win 4 race to date, three as a 2-year-old and was again successful on her return in Wolverhampton. Words of Peace (Palace Prince) from Sascha Smrczek Dusseldorf stables is very interesting too as she was under 3 lengths behind Lady Mary in the Winterkoenigin at two and showed she has trained on when winning a filly’s race in cologne at the start of this season. We could see a good filly win this race this year and it should be a very interesting contest.

Shannon Spratter