Zagrey Becomes Zarak’s First Group 1 Winner In Baden-Baden Feature

Granted leave of absence from 'TDN Rising Star' Beauvatier's G3 Prix La Rochette victory in Paris earlier in the day, conditioner Yann Barberot was on hand to witness G1 Dubai Sheema Classic and G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud placegetter Zagrey (Fr) (Zarak {Fr}–Grey Anatomy {GB}, by Slickly {Fr}) set the seal on a notable double, and claim a Group 1 first for his sire, in Sunday's 153rd Wettstar.de Grosser Preis von Baden.

Last term's Listed Derby du Midi and Listed Grand Prix du Nord victor had his task made slightly earier task by the withdrawal of G1 Deutsches Derby hero Fantastic Moon (Ger) (Sea The Moon {Ger}) was he keen under cover, along the fence on the heels of the leaders, as 'TDN Rising Star' and Deutsches Derby runner-up Mr Hollywood (Ire) (Iquitos {Ger}) set a modest pace for most of the 12-furlong trip. Caught in traffic out wide as the sprint commenced in earnest off the home turn, the 2-5 favourite was presented with a dream seam underneath the stands' side rail when Mr Hollywood drifted off a true line passing the furlong pole and stayed on relentlessy to deny that tenacious rival by a neck in the dying strides. Gestut Karlshof's Straight (Ger) (Zarak {Fr}) was on the scene throughout the thrilling final quarter-mile and only gave best nearing the line, finishing a half-length adrift in third.

Christophe Soumillon, who was winning the Grosser Preis for the first time, said, “The start was very difficult because we didn't go very fast. Luckily on the first bend the lead horse didn't turn well so that gave me the opportunity to get on the inside and let him roll a bit. After that, he was really relaxed for the whole race. He changed legs perfectly when I asked him to and when we got into the straight he was fighting with the bit a little.”

 

“When I asked him to quicken, I had to wait as there was a point when I didn't have a lot of room so I was just waiting for the gap. He's a lovely horse. We knew everything would suit him here, especially the way the race is run here as he always hangs right, so for him to get the perfect leg to the outside is always great. For sure, he would have been better with a stronger tempo in the race, but he was in great shape today.”

Barberot, who landed his second Group 1 victory and first in Germany, added, “It's never easy to win a Group 1, even with a good horse like him. It was a great race in the straight. There wasn't a lot of room in the last 500 metres, particularly when they had gone such a slow pace early on, but the horse showed a lot of courage to get there. Having said that, when they were turning into the straight I was quite worried.”

Pedigree Notes
Zagrey, who becomes the 10th pattern-race scorer and first at the highest level for his sire (by Dubawi {Ire}), is the fourth of six foals and one of three scorers out of the unraced Grey Anatomy (GB) (Slickly {Fr}). The April-foaled bay is a half to G1 Criterium International third Graignes (Fr) (Zoffany {Ire}), the stakes-placed Anatiya (Fr) (Dariyan {Fr}) and the hitherto unraced 2-year-old filly Eepha (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}). His second dam, Listed Virginia S. victrix Light Step (Nureyev), produced dual stakes-winning G3 Prix des Reservoirs third Nova Step (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) and is kin to three stakes winners headed by MGISP G2 Royal Lodge S. victor Eltish (Cox's Ridge). Light Step is out of Nimble Feet (Danzig), herself a full-sister to GI Arlington-Washington Lassie S. heroine Contredance and kin to MGSW distaffer Skimble (Lyphard). Skimble, in turn, is the dam of dual GI Pacific Classic-winning sire Skimming (Nureyev).

Sunday, Baden-Baden, Germany
153RD WETTSTAR.DE GROSSER PREIS VON BADEN-G1, €400,000, Baden-Baden, 9-3, 3yo/up, 12fT, 2:39.77, gd.
1–ZAGREY (FR), 132, c, 4, by Zarak (Fr)
1st Dam: Grey Anatomy (GB), by Slickly (Fr)
2nd Dam: Light Step, by Nureyev
3rd Dam: Nimble Feet, by Danzig
1ST GROUP WIN; 1ST GROUP 1 WIN. (€32,000 RNA Ylg '20 ARQSEP). O-Ecurie Altima & Gerard Augustin-Normand; B-Ecurie Euroling (FR); T-Yann Barberot; J-Christophe Soumillon. €230,000. Lifetime Record: MSW & G1SP-Fr, G1SP-UAE, 14-5-4-2, €1,034,716. *1/2 to Graignes (Fr) (Zoffany {Ire}), G1SP-Fr, $280,444; and Anatiya (Fr) (Dariyan {Fr}), SP-Ger. Werk Nick Rating: B. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Mr Hollywood (Ire), 125, c, 3, Iquitos (Ger)–Margie's Music (Fr), by Hurricane Run (Ire). (€15,000 Ylg '21 BBAGS). O-Wanja Soren Oberhof & Sebastian Weiss; B-Gestut Ammerland (GER); T-Henk Grewe. €90,000.
3–Straight (Ger), 125, c, 3, Zarak (Fr)–Seductive (Ger), by Henrythenavigator. 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE. (€40,000 RNA Ylg '21 BBAGS). O/B-Gestut Karlshof (GER); T-Andreas Wohler. €45,000.
Margins: NK, HF, 2 3/4. Odds: 0.40, 4.50, 17.70.
Also Ran: Quantanamera (Ger), Kassada (Ger), Sisfahan (Fr). Scratched: Fantastic Moon (Ger).

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Areion’s Calif Too Good In The Oettingen-Rennen

Stall Hanse's Calif (Ger) (Areion {Ger}–Cherry Danon {Ire}, by Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}), who ran sixth in two Group 3 starts after annexing May's G3 45th Kronimus Badener Meile at Baden-Baden, returned over the same one-mile strip of that stakes breakthrough to double his pattern-race tally in Sunday's G2 90th Brunner Oettingen-Rennen at the Iffezheim venue.

The 17-2 chance occupied a slot in rear after a slightly tardy getaway and remained there through halfway. Shaken up when sent wide into the straight, he made relentless headway from the two pole to launch his challenge entering the final furlong and surged clear in style thereafter to ward off British raider Brave Emperor (Ire) (Sioux Nation) by 2 1/2 lengths.

“We had a great trip throughout the race and were able to bide our time for as long as necessary,” winning rider Rene Piechulek told GaloppOnline. “Even though it may have not appeared that way, it was never close for us and he just makes a huge effort on that ground.”

Pedigree Notes
Calif is a son of G3 Hamburger Stutenmeile victrix and G2 German 1000 Guineas runner-up Cherry Danon (Ire) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}) and thus kin to the stakes-winning trio Celebrity (Ger) (Shamardal), Chilly Filly (Ger) (Makfi {GB}) and Cherry Lady (Ger) (Soldier Hollow {GB}). One of his sire's 31 pattern-race winners, he is also a half-brother to the unraced 2-year-old filly Cherry Lou (Ger) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) and a weanling filly by Mehmas (Ire). The April-foaled dark bay's second dam Sherifa (Ger) (Monsun {Ger}) is a full-sister to the stakes-winning dam of three black-type winners headed by MGSW sire Sommerabend (GB) (Shamardal). From the dam line of legendary champion Schwarzgold (Ger) (Alchimist {Ger}), this is a family which includes GI Hollywood Turf Cup hero Sanagas (Ger) (Lomitas {GB}) and G1 Grosser Preis von Berlin winner Sirius (Ger) (Dashing Blade {GB}).

Sunday, Baden-Baden, Germany
90TH BRUNNER – OETTINGEN-RENNEN-G2, €70,000, Baden-Baden, 9-3, 3yo/up, 8fT, 1:41.64, gd.
1–CALIF (GER), 128, g, 4, by Areion (Ger)
1st Dam: Cherry Danon (Ire) (GSW-Ger & GSP-Ity, $103,338), by Rock Of Gibraltar (Ire)
2nd Dam: Sherifa (Ger), by Monsun (Ger)
3rd Dam: Shona (Ger), by Windwurf (Ger)
(€95,000 RNA Ylg '20 BBAGS). O-Stall Hanse; B-Gestut Brummerhof (GER); T-Peter Schiergen; J-Rene Piechulek. €40,000. Lifetime Record: 17-3-3-3, €118,850. *1/2 to Celebrity (Ger) (Shamardal), MSW & GSP-Ger; Chilly Filly (Ger) (Makfi {GB}), SW & GSP-Ger; and Cherry Lady (Ger) (Soldier Hollow {GB}), SW-Ger. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Brave Emperor (Ire), 123, g, 3, Sioux Nation–Roman Gal (Ire), by Holy Roman Emperor (Ire). (£19,000 Ylg '21 GOUKPR). O-Middleham Park Racing LX; B-Caroline Hanly & Sean Ronan (IRE); T-Archie Watson. €15,500.
3–Aguirre (Ger), 128, g, 5, Camelot (GB)–Amazona (Ger), by Dubawi (Ire). O-Gestut Schlenderhan; B-Stall Ullmann (GER); T-Markus Klug. €8,000.
Margins: 2HF, 1HF, HF. Odds: 8.50, 4.80, 5.80.
Also Ran: Arnis Master (Ger), Dapango (Ger), See Hector (Ger), Angers (Fr), Parol (Ger), Best Lightning (Fr).

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Frankel’s Darkaniya Prevails In Baden-Baden Feature

Francis-Henri Graffard trainee Darkaniya (Fr) (Frankel {GB}–Daryakana {Fr}, by Selkirk), who ran fifth in last month's G1 Prix Jean-Romanet, added to a first black-type win in July's Listed Prix de la Pepiniere and doubled a her stakes tally with victory in Saturday's G2 T von Zastrow Stutenpreis at Baden-Baden.

The 9-5 favourite lobbed along in seventh passing the judge first time and bounded forward to stalk the leaders in fourth along the backstraight. Inching into second rounding the home turn, she was shaken to to seize control appoaching the final furlong and stayed on strongly under a late drive to prevail by 1 1/4 lengths from Kolossal (Ger) (Outstrip {GB}). Sophomore filly North Reliance (Ger) (Reliable Man {GB}) fared best of the remainder and finished a half-length back in third.

“I allowed her time to find her feet at first,” explained winning rider Bauyrzhan Murzabayev after notching a first pattern-race win in Germany for His Highness The Aga Khan since Kartajana (Ire) (Shernazar {Ire}) annexed 1991's G1 Bayerisches Zuchtrennen at Munich. “There was absolutely no pace, but that did not really matter as she does not tend to pull. I sent her forward in the final turn and soon realized that Kolossal was my main opponent. She fought gamely and ran on well although I might have hit the front a little too soon.”

Pedigree Notes

Darkaniya is the seventh of 10 foals and one of five winners from as many runners produced by G1 Hong Kong Vase victrix and G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud third Daryakana (Fr) (Selkirk). The February-foaled homebred, whose dam is a daughter of G1 Prix de Diane and G1 Prix Vermeille heroine Daryaba (Ire) (Night Shift), is a half-sister to G1 Prix Ganay-winning sire Dariyan (Fr) (Shamardal) and GII Knickerbocker S. and GIII Monmouth S. winner Devamani (Fr) (Dubawi {Ire}). She is also kin to stakes-winning G3 Prix Fille de l'Air third Dariyza (Fr) (Dawn Approach {Ire}), Listed Grand Prix de Clairefontaine victor Darabad (Fr) (Dansili {GB}), the unraced 2-year-old filly Darylakha (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) and a yearling colt by Sea The Stars (Ire).

Saturday, Baden-Baden, Germany
T VON ZASTROW STUTENPREIS-G2, €70,000, Baden-Baden, 9-2, 3yo/up, f/m, 12fT, 2:37.86, gd.
1–DARKANIYA (FR), 131, f, 4, by Frankel (GB)
1st Dam: Daryakana (Fr) (G1SW-HK, GSW & G1SP-Fr, $1,372,923), by Selkirk
2nd Dam: Daryaba (Ire), by Night Shift
3rd Dam: Darata (Ire), by Vayrann (Ire)
1ST GROUP WIN. O-H H The Aga Khan; B-H H The Aga Khan's Studs SC (FR); T-Francis-Henri Graffard; J-Bauyrzhan Murzabayev. €40,000. Lifetime Record: SW-Fr, 10-4-0-1, €116,430. *1/2 to Dariyan (Fr) (Shamardal), G1SW-Fr, G1SP-HK & GSP-UAE, $872,592; Devamani (Fr) (Dubawi {Ire}), MGSW-US, $560,208; Dariyza (Fr) (Dawn Approach {Ire}), SW & GSP-Fr; and Darabad (Fr) (Dansili {GB}), SW-Fr, $145,558. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Kolossal (Ger), 131, m, 5, Outstrip (GB)–Kolosseum (Ger), by Samum (Ger). (€22,000 Ylg '19 BBAGS). O-Stall Blue Diamond; B-Gestut Karlshof (GER); T-Carmen Bocskai. €15,500.
3–North Reliance (Ger), 123, f, 3, Reliable Man (GB)–North Queen (Ire), by Desert King (Ire). 1ST BLACK TYPE; 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. O-Michael Wachowitz; B-Gestut Wittekindshof (GER); T-Marcel Weiss. €8,000.
Margins: 1 1/4, HF, NK. Odds: 1.80, 4.90, 28.80.
Also Ran: Drawn To Dream (Ire), Weracruz (Ger), Princess Zelda (Ger), Mythicara (Ire), Ultima (Ger), View Zabeel (Ire).

 

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Living the Good Life in Baden-Baden

IFFEZHEIM, Germany–Baden-Baden, so good they named it twice. Okay, so the BBAG sales complex and its neighbouring grand racecourse may be in the small nearby village of Iffezheim but it is Baden-Baden that lends its name to the current stop on the European yearling sales tour, now that Donville is in the rear-view mirror.

The caravan rolls on, and it is always wise to stay on for a few days in Baden-Baden if time allows as, whether you're a pedigree purist or you simply enjoy a good day out at the races, all your needs will be catered for over the coming weekend at one of the most beautiful tracks in Europe. You can even take your dog and, if you really must, your children. 

First, though, there's the not-so-small matter of several hundred of Germany's best yearlings to get through tomorrow, along with some incomers from France, Ireland, Britain, Switzerland and even Hungary.

Had you been here two years ago you could have seen two future Classic stars. The Deutsches Derby winner Fantastic Moon (Ger) was sold by his breeders Philipp and Marion Stauffenberg for €49,000 to Lars-Wilhelm Baumgarten's Liberty Racing. On the same day Baumgarten switched roles to sell a Sea The Moon filly for €80,000. She is now named Muskoka (Ger) and is the winner of the Preis der Diana, giving Baumgarten a rare Classic double as both owner and breeder. Fantastic Moon reappears at Baden-Baden on Sunday in the Grosser Preis, which this year carries enhanced prize-money of €400,000 and also features the Preis der Diana runner-up Kassada (Ger), yet another by Sea The Moon, as well as the Derby runner-up Mr Hollywood (Ire) (Iquitos {Ger}).

Before then, Muskoka's half-sister by Reliable Man (GB) will be offered for sale as lot 175 on Friday from the draft of Timo and Nastasja Degel's Gestut Ohlerweiherhof, a growing force, both on the German sales and stallion scene, with the 2016 Deutsches Derby winner Isfahan (Ger) on its roster.

It has been quite the year for Baumgarten, who is likely to be extra busy during Friday's sale as he attempts to sign up the next intake of yearlings for what will be an enhanced Liberty Racing presence for next year.

“I am very happy with the season. If you win the Derby and the Diana it's amazing, a childhood dream,” he told TDN.

“We are making the syndicate bigger this year. We started with 12 investors in 2020 and now we have near 100 in this year, so we are creating four syndicates for next season. We've raised €2 million for the horseracing industry in Germany and I'm happy that a lot of people trust me and my team–that was on my mind as we created it.”

He continued, “The sport in Germany is not easy. We have fewer horses in training in the country this year compared to last year, and we have lost 2,000 horses over 20 years. So the industry is not in the best shape but we are doing our best to find new owners.”

One of the saddest losses to the German stallion ranks in recent years was that of Adlerflug (Ger), who died in April 2021 the year after he became champion sire in his native country. Baumgarten was closely connected to the stallion as the manager of the syndicate of breeders involved in his stud career.

This is the final year that Adlerflug will be represented by yearlings at BBAG, where he has six catalogued. He has been succeeded at stud by his Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe-winning son Torquator Tasso (Ger), who was Germany's busiest stallion in 2023, covering 85 mares in his first season at Gestut Auenquelle.

Baumgarten added, “The loss of Adlerflug was sad for me. He was so good in his last three years and he passed away too early. He has some good yearlings here and I hope that they sell well, and that he can give us perhaps a sire in his last crop. It is amazing for Germany that Torquator Tasso is in this country, and that he did not go to France or England. We need sire power.”

Baumgarten's Reliable Man filly is not the only half-sibling to one of this year's Classic winners present at BBAG as Gestut Fahrhof is consigning lot 165, a first-crop daughter of Pinatubo (Ire) out of the Group 3-winning Speightstown mare Hargeisa, whose second foal is the German 1000 Guineas victrix Habana (Ger).

There's not much breathing room in the sales calendar at present, with the Goffs Premier Sale having only just concluded and the Somerville Sale looming, hard on the heels of another horses-in-training sale at Tattersalls on Friday. However, plenty of British and Irish visitors have made their way to Germany. A noticeably larger contingent of British trainers present at BBAG includes Alice Haynes, Lemos de Souza, Kevin Philippart de Foy, Willie Butler and Tom Clover, all of whom were on the hunt early on Thursday morning, along with the regulars Ralph Beckett and Andrew Balding, plus a wide range of agents and breeze-up pinhookers.

The Faust family's Gestut Karlshof continues to enjoy a great run as both owner and breeder, and their colours will be represented in Sunday's G1 Grosser Preis von Baden by the Andreas Wohler-trained Straight (Ger) (Zarak {Fr}), winner of the G2 Union-Rennen earlier this season. The colt is another with a sibling in the sale: his half-brother by Brametot (Ire) features as lot 71 and represents Karlshof's signature family of Sacarina (GB) (Old Vic {GB}). So deep is that blue hen's imprint in the stud's bloodlines that she appears as the fourth dam of the of this colt, who has been named Seducer. Hard to think of a better name for a future stallion.

Karlshof also offers a strapping chestnut colt from the first crop of Ghaiyyath (Ire). Catalogued as lot 176, he is closely related to another recent group winner from the farm, the G3 Schwarzgold Rennen winner and German 1000 Guineas runner-up No Limit Credit (Ger) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}).

Late updates are always welcome for any consignor and lot 59 was given a boost on Wednesday when his relative Carolina Reaper (GB), trained by Charlie Johnston, became the third group winner for her young sire Too Darn Hot (GB) in the G3 Zukunfts Rennen next door to the sales complex. It's a page which doesn't require too much of a lift as the Sea The Stars (Ire) yearling colt in question, offered by Stauffenberg Bloodstock, is out of a Dubawi half-sister to Lordship Stud's St Leger winner Sixties Icon (GB), who is in turn out of the Oaks winner Love Divine (GB). The latter's Listed-winning half-sister Dark Promise (GB) is the dam of Carolina Reaper. 

While this year's draft from the Stauffenbergs features two Sea The Stars yearlings, there are none by his son Sea The Moon, whose name has loomed large in this year's German Classics. Five of those can be found in the next row along, however, in the consignment of Sea The Moon's breeder Gestut Gorlsdorf, along with a Belardo (Ire) colt out of the most appropriately named mare in the catalogue: Baden Baden (and, yes, she's by Sea The Moon, out of Berlin Berlin). Her yearling is perhaps so good that he has also been named twice. He's called Bonn Bonn. Or maybe that should be Bon Bon. 

 

 

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