The English page - "N" and "S" and "W"

One of the great strengths of German breeding is the way that the leading families have been cultivated through many generations, yet still retain their vigour and their ability to come up with top performers almost every year. We have seen this again this week, when three of the best-known German families have produced big race winners. The German obligation that the owners of mares must give their offspring the same initial letter as the dam also makes it easier for students and historians to follow the progress of these families; unfortunately this obligation does not apply to foreign owners racing in other jurisdictions, although some big owner-breeders such as the Aga Khan and the Wildenstein family also follow this tradition.

Last Sunday´s Group Three Düsseldorf winner Wonnemond (Areion) is easily recognizable as a member of the famous “W” family descending from Gestüt Ravensberg´s famous broodmare Waldrun (Alchimist). She was not much good as a racehorse, winning only one small race from 17 starts, but she proved to be an inspired purchase for Ravensberg, who bought her together with her first foal Windstille as a six-year-old in 1949, and her family remains as strong as ever today. Last year´s French Derby runner-up Waldgeist (Galileo) and his half-sister Waldlied (New Approach), a winner this week in Chantilly for trainer André Fabre and owner-breeders Gestüt Ammerland and Newsells Park, are current members of this family, both closely related to 2011 German Derby winner Waldpark (Dubawi) and St. Leger Masked Marvel (Montjeu).

It now seems amazing that Wonnemond cost only 9,000 euros as a yearling at the BBAG October mixed sale, especially as his sire Areion is also a well-established star. Wonnemond has now won  nine races, five of them at his local track Düsseldorf, and his career winnings are close to half a million euros. He is expected to run next in the Badener Meile, but his main target for 2018 is a repeat victory in the valuable Topkapi Trophy in Istanbul. He is suited by exaggerated waiting tactics, and he again came from well off the pace to win at Düsseldorf on Sunday; he is now rated 115 and is clearly one of the best older milers around. Waldrun is his seventh dam.

Nina´s Shadow (Shamardal) was rather more expensive as a yearling, when costing the Hong Kong Jockey Club 180,000 euros at Arqana´s August sale, but, if anything, has turned out to be an even greater bargain. Renamed Pakistan Star by his new connections, he has proved to be a star indeed and despite some wobbles and some occasions when he appeared not to want to race at all, is now one of the best Group One performers in Hong Kong, running a brilliant race at the weekend to win the QEII Cup by three lengths. “Moody but magnificient” was the phrase used by the commentator.

He was bred by Gestüt Wittekindshof and is out of Nina Celebre (Peintre Celebre),who won two listed races. She was a daughter of Next Gina (Perugino), who won the Preis der Diana, as did her own dam Night Petticoat (Petoski), who also bred German Derby Next Desert (Desert Style). This is surely the most successful family in Germany this century and has also produced for Jürgen Imm (Stall Nizza) the Group One winners Nutan (Duke of Marmalade), Nymphea and Nightflower (both by Dylan Thomas). It is also the family of recent Champion hurdle runner-up Melon, as well as Dr. Christoph Berglar´s homebred champion Novellist (Monsun), winner of the King George in record time and now at stud in Japan. They all trace back to Nella da Gubbio (1924, Grand Parade), a grand-daughter of Federico Tesio´s famous mare Catnip, who has had such a huge influence on the modern thoroughbred.

Easily the best three-year-old race of the season so far in Germany was Tuesday´s Bavarian Classic in Munich. This event has an excellent record as a Derby trial and the latest winner Royal Youmzain is now clear favourite at 5-1 in ante-post betting on the Hamburg classic. Although the distances of half a length and the same, with the next four within two lengths, suggest that this was a close thing, it was in the opinion of this writer nothing of the sort and Royal Youmzain was a most convincing winner. The race not run to suit him, but once this powerful colt – trainer Andreas Wöhler´s fourth consecutive winner of the race – got into top gear he really ate up the ground and would have won by three lengths or so in another furlong. He is likely to have one more race, probably at Baden-Baden, before the Derby itself on July 8^th. He has been given a rating of 108 and he and Stall Darius´ French-bred Alounak (Camelot) are so far the two obvious Derby candidates. The second, third and fourth from, the Munich race – Jimmu (Dalakhani),  Emerald Master (Mastercraftsman) and Salve del Rio (Rio De La Plata) all ran well enough to suggest that they have a major part to play in the big races to come.

Royal Youmzain, homebred by owner Jaber Abdullah and by his triple Arc runner-up Youmzain, is out of the unraced Shamardal mare Smasha, who was out of the Sadler´s Wells mare Spa. The next dam, Lancashire Oaks winner Sandy Island, was a three-parts sister to Derby winner Slip Anchor. The dam had been bought by Lord Howard de Walden and this is a prominent German family; Sandy Island´s fourth dam was the famous Schlenderhan mare Schwarzgold (Alchimist), who won the German Derby in 1940 and founded a dynasty which is still going strong today. Recent Japanese classic winner Soul Stirring (Frankel) is just one of many current examples, most of them beginning with the letter “S”.

This weekend´s big event is the Group Two Gerling-Preis at Cologne; the oldest sponsored race in Germany, it is also the first leg of the German Racing Champions League. It has attracted seven runners, three of them trained by Markus Klug and it is quite possible that they could take the first three places. Stable jockey Adrie de Vries has chosen to ride Dschingis Secret (Soldier Hollow), winner of the Grosser Preis von Berlin last year, while Maxim Pecheur renews his acquaintance with German Derby winner Windstoss (Shirocco), and an outside jockey Eduardo Pedroza partners Colomano (Cacique), who defeated Windstoss here in the Union-Rennen last year. It would come as no surprise were Colomano were to come out best of this trio, as he will be well suited by the likely fast ground. Main opposition to the Klug trio could come from Instigator (Nayef) and Walsingham (Campanologist) who both gave the impression last year that they could improve significantly this season.

David Conolly-Smith