G1 Deutsches Derby | Horse Racing Free Tips

Rouget Pleased With Ace Impact Ahead Of The Arc, As Field Takes Shape

The undefeated G1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe favourite Ace Impact (Ire) (Cracksman {GB}) is pleasing trainer Jean-Claude Rouget ahead of the big day on Sunday. He is one of 16 on the radar for the ParisLongchamp showpiece after Sprewell (Ire) (Churchill {Ire})'s defection at the latest forfeit stage on Tuesday.

A colourbearer for Gousserie Racing and Ecuries Serge Stempniak, the five-for-five G1 Prix du Jockey Club hero ran out a three-quarter length winner of the G2 Prix Guillaume d'Ornano when last seen in August.

“Why shouldn't I be optimistic? I'm coming in with a horse that's unbeaten,” said Rouget, who is seeking his second Arc after the success of Sottsass (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) in 2020.

“We know in any race anything can happen and we're coming to the end of the season, but he gets three kilos from the older horses, which is important. I'm optimistic in the sense that he goes into the race unbeaten and has done everything we have asked him to so far.

“It's been six weeks [since Deauville] and the six weeks have passed very quickly.”

The 2400-metre Arc will be the colt's first try over that trip and at that racecourse. In the lead up to Sunday's card, the weather also appears to be playing fair which is good news for several contenders.

“Obviously we can't be certain, but with the way he finishes his races and also the fact his sire was a winner over the distance gives us hope that he can stay,” he continued. “If the Prix du Jockey Club [French Derby] had been over a mile and a half, as it was in the past, he would have won that.

“Last year Vadeni (Fr) (Churchill {Ire}) was in the same place for us and he ran really well [finished second to Alpinista (GB) (Frankel {GB})]. I'm not worried about the course, he's an easy horse once he's settled in his race and there are plenty of horses that have won the Arc that also hadn't run at Longchamp before.

“I think it is going to be good for everyone, which is an interesting point about this year's race. In the past the race was often criticised for its heavy ground and the fact horses are tired, but this year I think the ground is going to suit everyone.”

Ground Key For Feed The Flame And Fantastic Moon

G1 Grand Prix de Paris winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Feed The Flame (GB) (Kingman {GB})'s camp is hoping for a bit of ease in the ground. Pascal Bary is seeking his first Arc, and is also confident in his Jean-Louis Bouchard-owned colt, who was second to Fantastic Moon (Ger) (Sea The Moon {Ger}) in the G2 Prix Niel earlier this month.

“He's a very good horse, he has a very good temperament and he gets the mile and a half really, really well,” said Bary. “I think on the day of the Arc, the ground will be slightly different and he will be more comfortable on that ground.

“Anything a bit softer than the ground he encountered in the Jockey Club, Grand Prix de Paris and Prix Niel would be appreciated.”

The connections of G1 Deutsches Derby hero and Prix Niel scorer Fantastic Moon were pleased with their colt's Tuesday work at Munich and have not ruled out the Arc at this stage. Raced by the Liberty Racing Syndicate, Fantastic Moon would need to be supplemented.

“Fantastic Moon's work in Munich was very good,” said Liberty Racing Syndicate's Lars-Wilhelm Baumgarten on X on Tuesday morning. “The trainer will have a discussion with the owners about the possibilities with an eye on ground conditions. The Arc is in any case again a real option, if the sun continues.”

Another expected supplement is the Coolmore partners' Continuous (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}), who won the G1 St Leger for Aidan O'Brien in mid-September.

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Auguste Rodin Poised for Derby Double

Anyone privy to the sensational closing sectionals of Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) in the Derby will be approaching Sunday's G1 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby at The Curragh with great anticipation of what he can do next. While Epsom's final three furlongs lend themselves to electric fractions, the 33.01 that Ballydoyle's latest celebrity covered them in is nothing short of remarkable and already places him in exalted territory among the very elite to have conquered the demands of the Blue Riband.

Now that the only marginally less brilliant King Of Steel (Wootton Bassett {GB}) has underlined at Royal Ascot just what an achievement it was to give him a start and run him down on the famous Surrey Downs, the excitement continues to mount that we are in the midst of a great one.

It is therefore vital that the talented and possibly under-rated White Birch (GB) (Ulysses {Ire}) is here to test his merit again and provide a true measurement of his trajectory. John Joseph Murphy's grey missile likes to hand his rivals instant advantage, but at Epsom he was notably rapid throughout the final half mile with his split from three to two out of 10.67 just a tick off the race's sharpest recorded by King Of Steel. Now on a more galloping track on ground which should play more to his strengths, Chantal Regalado-Gonzalez's representative ensures this is an Irish Derby with real weight.

Much will be said by Aidan O'Brien but as usual, the master of Ballydoyle was keeping it low-key pre-race. “Everything has gone smooth since Epsom,” he said. “That was his first time over a mile and a half and we didn't know how it would be, but we thought he was very comfortable and it has to be a good experience to stay at that trip again. Those horses at Ascot had more time from the Derby this year, which helped, but the form looks to be standing up.”

Murphy is understandably hoping that White Birch can make the same impact here as he did last month. “I was delighted at Epsom, but I think he could have been a bit better as he starts his races quite slowly and then gallops very genuinely,” he said. “He's a very sound horse, I don't think he's ever had a vet. He's very genuine, but he doesn't break well and I think he'll get better as the race goes on. He's lightly-raced still, there's only so many times you can go to the well but he likes his racing and likes his work–every morning he has a great attitude.”

Fourth in the Derby and denied a clean passage at a crucial time, Mohammed Khalid Abdulrahim's Sprewell (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}) still has to improve markedly to impose himself on Auguste Rodin and White Birch so the colts that followed him home at comfortable margins in Leopardstown's G3 Derby Trial, Up And Under (Fr) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) and Proud And Regal (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), should be readily outclassed. Aidan O'Brien has set this up tactically to allow the favourite to get into his crushing rhythm and the useful potential pacemaker Covent Garden (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) will presumably set the stage.

Straight Up?…

Of course, Ireland are not the only ones on Sunday staging a Derby, with the 154th edition of the G1 Deutsches Derby at Hamburg seeing Gestut Karlshof's Straight (Ger) (Zarak {Fr}) re-opposed by TDN Rising Star Mr Hollywood (Ire) (Iquitos {Ger}) following their mismatched encounter in Cologne's G2 Union-Rennen earlier this month. While there was a five-length margin between them on that occasion, Wanja Soren Oberhof and Sebastian Weiss's Mr Hollywood had been so impressive when taking Munich's G3 Bavarian Classic that Straight has to do it again for true validation.

Straight's owner-breeder Bruno Faust said, “We are very happy for him to have shown his quality in such an awesome way! He has the right genes, being very closely related to three German Derby winners, a German Oaks heroine and Derby runner-up plus this year's Derby Italiano hero Goldenas. For me, it was clear that he had the potential when he broke his maiden at two and he has continued to convinc e us. I also hope that he can handle any ground.”

Sebastian Weiss said of Mr Hollywood, “Our trainer Henk Grewe told us that he was a very good horse, but just how good he was we only began realising when he took the Bavarian Classic. We bought him without much planning, he was on a list given to me by Wilhelm Feldmann and even if it sounds like a cliche, I fell in love with him instantly. He had so much presence, he was such a good mover and athletic, if he would have been by Sea The Stars or Frankel, he probably would have been amongst the top lots, but we were lucky he was by Iquitos. I only know whoever wants to win this Derby will have to beat Straight.”

If there is one who could shake up the domestic team it is the Ralph Beckett-trained If Not Now (Ger) (Iffraaj {GB}). Bred by Gestut Fahrhof and bought at the BBAG September Yearling Sale for €67,000 by Jeremy Brummitt for Quantum Leap Racing, the relative of the 1999 Deutsches Derby runner-up Acambaro (Ger) (Goofalik) produced a noteworthy performance when winning a Sandown handicap by seven lengths on his latest outing. “He's done well from two to three and it was a good effort last time. He's a very straightforward individual and his owners were keen to have a go, so it all made very good sense,” Beckett said.

Unquestionable Faith…

Sunday's G2 GAIN Railway S. is always an important staging post en route to the following year's Classics, particularly where Aidan O'Brien is concerned, and there are three potential Guineas colts from Ballydoyle this time. Successful on debut in the Listed First Flier S. and a close third in the G3 Marble Hill S. here before finishing fourth and beating all on his side in last Thursday's G2 Norfolk S., His Majesty (Ire) (No Nay Never) would ordinarily have been expected to be Ryan Moore's pick. That he is not speaks volumes for the regard in which the TDN Rising Star Unquestionable (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) is held. Third behind His Majesty as they made their debuts in the First Flier, Al Shaqab Racing, Coolmore and Westerberg's relative of Cityscape (GB) and Bated Breath (GB) looked so comfortable in the course-and-distance Tally Ho Stud Irish EBF Maiden at the Irish Guineas meeting that he has made a deep impression on Moore.

Opting for him over His Majesty and fellow TDN Rising Star Democracy (Ire) (No Nay Never), who was last of six in the Marble Hill, the rider explained, “There isn't much to choose between any of them. I do think His Majesty holds the best form claims of our trio heading into the race, especially as you have to mark up his fourth in the Norfolk last week and I think the return to six furlongs will suit him too but Unquestionable clearly has a lot of potential and I was very impressed by him when he won his maiden here last month. I think there is a lot of improvement in this Wootton Bassett colt. Democracy is better than he showed in the Marble Hill last time too.”

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Hurricane Alert At Saint-Cloud

It can't always be said that the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud is the strongest of the Group 1 races in Europe, but Sunday's line-up stands up to inspection with Godolphin's Hurricane Lane (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) looking to build on his respectable if uninspiring return effort in the G2 Hardwicke S. While excuses can be made on account of the prevalent fast ground at Royal Ascot and the fact that he would have needed his seasonal bow, there is always a concern when such a luminary fails to spark during such an important phase of his career. His achievements at three are undeniably impressive, with few colts able to pull off a rare treble of G1 Irish Derby, G1 Grand Prix de Paris and G1 St Leger with such dash and authority and his parting shot of running third in the Arc only served to enhance his reputation.

“I'll be honest, I was pleased with his [Hardwicke] run,” Charlie Appleby said. “Pre-race I was confident that we'd got his level of fitness up there, but turning four he's done very well physically and he's certainly tightened up for the run, that's for sure. What we've seen since the race is a sharper, tighter model. Some might ask if 15 days is enough time between runs, but 15 days was always our plan–the Hardwicke and then the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud and what we saw last year was he thrives on his races. He went English Derby, Irish Derby and then Grand Prix de Paris last year and that was probably his most impressive victory, so he thrives on his racing and we're very happy.”

Welcome Back Alpinista

Whereas Hurricane Lane has had the sharpener in 2022, Kirsten Rausing's Alpinista (GB) (Frankel {GB}) has been denied that and she is in a lot deeper than she was on this weekend last year when marking her seasonal debut with a workmanlike success in the G2 Lancashire Oaks. Whatever her state of readiness, the Sir Mark Prescott-trained grey is a welcome sight coming back off her remarkable treble of G1 Grosser Preis Von Berlin, G1 Preis Von Europa and G1 Grosser Preis Von Bayern. Given that the former of those races was taken at the expense of Torquator Tasso (Ger) (Adlerflug {Ger}), it is clear that we are looking at a major talent among Europe's older horses.

Will The Eagle Land?

Like Hurricane Lane, Ballylinch Stud and Aquis Farm's Lone Eagle (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) was a touch flat on his return when a well-beaten third to a resurgent Third Realm (GB) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) in Goodwood's Listed Tapster S. May 21, but he probably ran no worse than he had on his 2021 return when fourth behind Alenquer (Fr) (Adlerflug {Ger}), Adayar (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) and Yibir (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the G3 Sandown Classic Trial. On his next start, he had made a significant leap to hand Yibir five pounds and a four-length beating in the Listed Cocked Hat S. on soft before making Hurricane Lane pull out all the stops in the Irish Derby.

Freddie Meade said, “It was very important to get that run into him, as he showed last year. I think we're in a good spot with him and I think he's earned his place. He had some of the best form in the book last year and he's done well.”

Deutsches Delight

There is a fascinating 153rd edition of the G1 IDEE Deutsches Derby at Hamburg, where the key protagonists appear to be Darius Racing's May 22 G2 Derby Italiano winner Ardakan (GB) (Reliable Man {GB}), Gestut Rottgen's impressive June 5 G3 Diana Trial scorer Wagnis (Ger) (Adlerflug {Ger}), Gestut Park Wiedingen's June 6 G2 Union-Rennen winner Sammarco (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) and Gestut Schlenderhan's So Moonstruck (Ger) (Sea The Moon {Ger}), who was a head second in that 11-furlong Cologne contest. With seven runners all with solid prospects, the real story of the race is the dominance of Markus Klug with Frankie Dettori, Hollie Doyle and Richard Kingscote among the jockey bookings. Of the 20 in the line-up, there are only seven stables represented with Henk Grewe and Andreas Wohler also saddling four apiece and the latter handler has a bright prospect in Gestut Paschberg's May 28 G3 Baden-Baden Derby-Trial winner Queroyal (Ger) who could make it an even bigger weekend for his sire Churchill (Ire). Whatever the outcome, the lessons of recent years and especially of the 2021 Arc mean that eyes need to be peeled on Sunday afternoon.

Click here for the group fields.

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