Breeding & Racing in Germany

It looks as if the long winter is finally over and the turf season is now under way. Last Sunday we had the first turf fixture of 2021 in Germany, a low level affair in Krefeld, but with two interesting 3yo winners (see below) while we also had the first group race on grass of the season at Saint-Cloud – the Prix Exbury, in which German raider Grocer Jack finished a respectable fourth, and there was also racing at the Curragh, while this weekend Doncaster will mark the traditional start of the season in the U.K. with two listed races and the Lincoln Handicap, a reference to the fact that this meeting was originally held at the now defunct Lincoln Racecourse, which began operations in 1763 and closed down in 1964.

The winning run of German-bred N.H. stallions in British and Irish races over jumps continues, and hardly a day goes by without another winner sired by Getaway, Aizavovski, Maxios, Ocovango,  Network, Salutino, the full brothers September Storm and Shirocco, and two more brothers Samum and Schiaparelli – all of them of course sons of Monsun. Getaway is probably the current star; he stands at Coolmore´s Grange Stud in Fermoy, Co. Cork. He is in fact the most expensive of Coolmore´s N.H. sires – who also include three more sons of Monsun – at 9,000 euros. This might sound like peanuts compared to the prices charged for Galileo and other flat stallions at Coolmore, but Getaway has been covering huge books and 9,000 multiplied by 250 or more soon adds up to a nice sum.

With very little happening on the flat in Germany – just very low level racing on Dortmund´s sand track for the next three Sundays, before the turf season begins at Krefeld on March 21^st – it is worth taking another look at the N.H. scene in Britain and Ireland, and particularly the continuing success of German-bred stallions in that sphere, notably the many sons of Monsun (Königsstuhl), now recognized as a huge influence in N.H. racing, second only to Sadler´s Wells as a sire of N.H. sires.

When we wrote last week that it was “only a matter of time” before Getaway sired his first Grade One winner over jumps, we certainly did not imagine that it would take less than 48 hours, but that indeed happened last Saturday when his son Sporting John won the Grade One Scilly Isles Novice Chase at Sandown park at very generous odds of 14-1. Sporting John was held up in last place, but came with a very strong run to win in the end very easily; he is entered in all three big novice chases at the Cheltenham N.H. Festival.

The International Classifications were published this week, the worldwide official ratings of the best horses in the world of thoroughbred racing. Obviously not every horse can be listed, the ratings start at 115 (German GAG 97.5) for 3yo´s and up and at 110 (German GAG 95) for 2yo´s. Among the many statistics provided, one of great interest is that of the world´s best 100 races, which is calculated by taking the average ratings of the first four to finish. The figures for 2020 make very positive reading from the German point of view.