The English page - Surprising results

There was some interesting racing at Hanover last weekend, but from the German point of view the Group One Criterium International  at ParisLongchamp was the event that was most important, as it was won by Gestüt Schlenderhan´s homebred Alson (Areion), the first German-trained Group One winner abroad since the Andreas Wöhler-trained Potemkin (New Approach) won the Premio Roma (since demoted to Group Two) in 2016. In the early years of this decade we had several German horses scoring at the top level – for example Danedream in the Arc and King George, Novellist also in the King George, Pastorius  in the Ganay and Protectionist in the Melbourne Cup – but since then this stream of Group One winners has dried up.  This result was therefore very significant, and of course a great success for Schlenderhan and especially for trainer Jean-Pierre Carvalho.

It was also a great result for veteran stallion Areion, his first ever Group One winner after numerous successes at Group Two and Group Three level. He now stands at Gestüt Etzean and is set to cover only a limited number of mares in 2020, when he will be 25, but at a higher fee of 12,500 euros. He still has a chance of being champion sire in Germany (for the fourth time), and is not far behind Soldier Hollow at the moment. If foreign earnings were included, he would be well in front, following Alson´s victory here and Rubaiyat`s the previous week in Italy.

The race itself was a bit of a joke, and in the end only two lined up and it became a match, a complete rarity in Group One races. Alson´s opponent, Coolmore´s  Armory (Galileo), had finished just behind him last time out when they were second and third to the unbeaten Victor Ludorum (Shamardal) in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere, France´s top 2yo race. This time however Armory was beaten at halfway and finally was allowed to trundle home twenty lengths behind the winner. This makes things difficult for the handicappers; both Alson and Armory were rated 110 before the race, but obviously Alson must now be rated superior. However he can hardly be placed above Victor Ludorum, let alone Pinatubo (Shamardal), Europe´s best two-year-old this year, although a literal interpretation of the form could suggest this, as Frankie Dettori, who rode him both times at Longchamp, gleefully reported.

Future plans for Alson are unclear, as Schlenderhan have announced that they are closing down their training centre, where Carvalho has been based for the past six years. Alson will therefore have to move to a new home, and probably a new trainer, in the near future. It is also unlikely that he will stay much beyond a mile. His half-brother Ancient Spirit (Galileo) is a smart miler and won the German 2,000 Guineas last year. Areion himself was the best German sprinter of his generation and never ran beyond seven furlongs; he was by the sprinter Big Shuffle out of a mare by Caerleon, so does pass on a certain amount of stamina, but speed dominates.

Looking back now to Hanover, where there were some surprise results, and  it is clear that at this time of year, with cold and wet weather replacing the long hot summer, form does not always work out well. However the main feature, the Group Three Grosser Preis des Gestüts Ammerland for fillies and mares over eleven furlongs, was a shocker, with the 56-1 chance Lips Queen (Kamsin) coming from last place with a sustained run to lead inside the final furlong and in the end win quite cosily by ¼ lengths.  It was an overpaced race, with the fillies making the running on very soft ground all dropping out in the straight, but all credit to the winner, who won fair and square, and to the trainer Eva Fabianova, whose first group race winner this was. Lips Queen had won two of her four races so far, but had been twice well beaten in moderate handicaps and was by far the lowest rated runner in field. The handicapper has now raised her by an astonishing 53 pounds to a new rating of GAG 90 (=international 100), still a very poor mark for a group race winner.  Lips Queen was bred by Hans-Dieter Lindemeyer´s Stall Parthenau, whose “Lips” family has been very successful and includes such smart performers as  Lips Poison (Mamool), winner of the German 1,000 Guineas, and Lucky Lion (High Chaparral), runner-up in the German Derby. The word “Lips” does not refer to our kissing organs, but to Lindemeyer´s home town of Leipzig. Kamsin (Samum) is now covering mainly N.H. mares in France, but can also sire smart performers on the flat and they usually relish very soft going.

Eva Fabianova trains in Neuenhagen, not far from Hoppegarten, and her near neighbour Jan Korpas also had the best winner of his career on this Hanover card, when Paloma Ohe (Rio de la Plata) made all the running to win the listed race for 2yo fillies, just holding the strong challenger of Democracy (Areion). Paloma Ohe, an 8,000 BBAG (October) purchase, kept on gamely when tackled and Korpas commented: “I am already looking forward to next year!” The other listed race on the card went to the favourite, Godolphin´s homebred Nashirah (Dubawi), who scored easily enough to give trainer Henri-Alex Pantall his tenth German winner of 2019 from only 23 runners for an impressive strike rate of over 43%.

This weekend´s big race is the Waldgeist- Grosser Preis von Bayern over 2400 metres at Munich, the last Group One of the European season. The race looked like cutting up earlier in the week, but with three supplementary entries now boasts a decent field of eleven, including three from abroad.  There are five fillies in the field and it would be no surprise to see them dominate the finish. Darius Racing´s Donjah (Teofilo) should start favourite after her excellent placings in the Grosser Preis von Baden and Preis von Europa, followed by her very easy Group Two victory in Italy a fortnight ago. However she finished behind the 4yo Amorella (Nathaniel) at Cologne, and that one had earlier won a Group Two at Baden-Baden. There are two 3yo fillies coming from England, both daughters of Lope de Vega trained by Ralph Beckett and running in the colours of Waverley Racing. Antonia de Vega is very lightly raced and was sixth in a strong field at Ascot last time, while Manuela de Vega finished fourth in the Epsom Oaks and fifth in the Irish version. There is very little between the pair, but Beckett´s main jockey Harry Bentley partners Antonia, which could be an indication.

If a member of the male sex is to win, it is most likely to be either the lightly-raced and improving 3yo Ladykiller (Kamsin) or the 4yo gelding Nancho (Tai Chi), an 8,000 euros BBAG purchase who is the best horse currently trained in Hungary. He has already given German racegoers a taste of his undoubted ability, when running away with a Baden-Baden Group Three a fortnight ago. He looked very smart that day, but to be honest, it was a very weak Group Three and he meets far stronger opposition this time.

David Conolly-Smith