Seven Days: Reawakening 

The curtain came up at Longchamp on Sunday, with the 'réouverture' being conducted in extremely testing conditions but nevertheless providing a welcome return to action at France's premier racecourse.

The most important thing on arrival in the Bois de Boulogne is to make it into the track without being mown down by one or more of the cyclists within the relentless peloton that streams past the gates of Longchamp of a weekend. Everything after that feels like a blessing. 

And indeed we were blessed with an almost dry and definitely warm day. Every trainer, breeder, farmer and clerk of the course has been preoccupied with the exceptionally wet spring that has seen race meetings abandoned and paddocks poached. In assessing the results from Leopardstown to Longchamp on Sunday it will be hard to gauge how well these three-year-olds will fare on faster underfoot conditions but Christophe Ferland believes that his G3 Prix La Force winner Atlast (Fr) (Farhh {GB}) is simply a good horse who, as the old adage goes, will go on any ground. 

A solid and flashy chestnut, the Wertheimers' homebred is certainly an imposing specimen and won decisively despite his slightly awkward head carriage. His Sangster-bred granddam Pitamakan (Danzig) had been bought as a Keeneland yearling for $400,000 and is herself a third-generation descendant of the influential matriarch Courtly Dee (Never Bend). 

It remains regrettable that Atlast's sire Farhh is only able to cover small books of mares owing to his poor fertility, but perhaps that is key to his success, and this looks another really interesting prospect for the son of Pivotal (GB), who on Monday was represented by the G3 Prix Edmond Blanc winner Tribalist (GB). Atlast will surely now be aimed with the intention that he joins Fonteyn (GB) and King Of Change (GB) on the list of Group 1 winners by Farhh. The latter of that pair has his first two-year-old runners this season, as does Farhh's unusually fast son Far Above (Ire).

Hernon Dreams On

Gavin Hernon, who eschewed his native Ireland to start training in Chantilly six years ago, was the toast of the winner's enclosure at Longchamp on Sunday. His fellow Chantilly trainer Tim Donworth shouted “The Irish are taking over” as Hernon collected his trophy from sponsor Kieran Lalor after Dare To Dream (Fr) (Camelot {GB}) opened her season in portentous fashion with victory in the G3 Al Shira'aa Racing Prix Vanteaux.

Bred by Ecurie des Monceaux, Meridian International and Scuderia Waldeck, Dare To Dream was well bought by her trainer at €67,000 from Arqana's October Yearling Sale, especially when one considers that the mission Hernon was given by owner Dun Shing Lee was to buy a filly good enough to run in the Oaks. And that's not just any Oaks, either. Lee meant the original Oaks, at Epsom, where he was born and raised. 

So far, so good, as Dare To Dream is the only French-trained filly among the 58 entries for the Betfred Oaks on May 31. With a Classic trial under her belt, a Derby winner as a sire and Arc winner Danedream (Ger) as her aunt, she will have every right to be there. 

Another Ballysax Star?

I've always loved the Ballysax Stakes. For a particularly heady period at the turn of this century its roll of honour featured Galileo (Ire), High Chaparral (Ire) and Yeats (Ire) in just four years. It ebbs and flows, of course, but since then there have been some proper names added, such as Fame And Glory (GB), Banimpire (Ire), Fascinating Rock (Ire) and Rekindling (GB). The most recent Derby winner to emanate from the Ballysax was Harzand (Ire) in 2016. 

Dallas Star (Fr) took the 2024 Ballysax on Sunday and could be the horse to elevate the profile of his sire Cloth Of Stars (Ire), who was eighth behind Harzand at Epsom and went on to win the G1 Prix Ganay as well as finishing second and third in consecutive Arcs won by Enable (GB).

Dallas Star is another to have been sold by Monceaux, this time as a foal for breeders Eliane Dieuaide and Domaine Billard et Fils, for €30,000. He was picked up by Robson Aguiar for 50,000gns as a yearling at Tattersalls and, when he failed to sell, was retained at the Craven Breeze-up Sale for 180,000gns and now runs in the Amo Racing colours, which were so narrowly vanquished in last year's Derby aboard King Of Steel (Wootton Bassett {GB}).

Sent off at 50/1, Dallas Star's victory was clearly not expected, and he had two better fancied rivals from Ballydoyle behind him. The third home, Illinois (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), had been sent off favourite and he is a half-brother to Debutante (Fr) (Gold Away {Fr}), dam of the above-mentioned Dare To Dream, and to Danedream.

Cloth Of Stars was also responsible for the third-placed Birr Castle (Fr) in the G2 Prix d'Harcourt. The race provided yet another triumph for Jerome Reynier, and was won by Zarakem (Fr) (Zarak {Fr}) on his second start for Ecurie Benaroussi Sofiane after being bought for €500,000 at Arqana's Arc Sale.

The previous weekend, Reynier, who is currently top of the French trainers' table, had enjoyed his first winner on Dubai World Cup night when Facteur Cheval (Ire) won the G1 Dubai Turf. 

Third Classic Contender for Wellenspiel

If you saddle a horse with the name Weltbeste (Ger) you'd better hope that she can live up to it, but Gestut Rottgen had something of a clue in the fact that the daughter of Soldier Hollow (GB) is a full-sister to a Deutsches Derby winner, Weltstar (Ger), and a half-sister to another, Windstoss (Ger) (Shirocco Ger}). 

Now two from two in her races to date following victory at Mulheim on Sunday for Rottgen's new trainer Maxim Pecheur, Weltbeste heads the market for the G1 Preis der Diana on August 4. That's a long way off, of course, but if it seems too fantastical to imagine that their dam Wellenspiel (Ger) (Sternkoenig {Ire}) could produce three German Classic winners, it is worth remembering that that feat was achieved not too long ago by Sacarina (GB) (Old Vic {GB}), the dam of Samum (Ger), Schiaparelli (Ger) and Salve Regina (Ger), all sired by Monsun (Ger),

Ward Starts Ascot Hype Rolling

These days, nothing quite says spring is here like a Wesley Ward speedball rocketing from the gates to tear up the early Keeneland juvenile races and book a place on the plane for Royal Ascot.

Step forward Shoot It True, a daughter of Munnings, who claimed a TDN Rising Star with her victory in the first two-year-old race of the season after scoring in emphatic fashion by an eased-down seven and a half lengths. 

Queen Mary ahoy? It would be no surprise.

Stefano Cherchi Remembered at Santa Anita and Beyond

At Santa Anita on Saturday, Frankie Dettori stole the show as only he can do, winning six races in a row, including the GII Santa Anita Oaks aboard Nothing Like You (Malibu Moon) for his main ally Bob Baffert.

Dettori wasn't the only Italian to triumph at the 'Great Race Place', however, with Umberto Rispoli winning the GIII Monrovia S., before Antonio Fresu claimed the major race of the day, the GI Santa Anita Derby, on the Phil d'Amato-trained Stronghold (Ghostzapper). 

Of course, the Italian jockey who has been in the thoughts of racing folk the world over this week is Stefano Cherchi, who died last Wednesday, a fortnight after sustaining devastating head injuries in a race fall at Canberra, Australia. 

Fresu paid an emotional tribute to his compatriot after his first Grade I win on American soil. He said, “I want to dedicate this to my friend who passed away the other day. I felt like he was there with me today. Stefano Cherchi was an amazing guy.”

The death of Cherchi at the age of just 23 has rocked so many of his friends and colleagues in the business. In Newmarket, where the Sardinian had been based since the age of 16 with Marco Botti, the trainer said simply, “I feel like I've lost a son.”

Cherchi's former weighing-room colleague in Britain, Callum Shepherd, perhaps summed up his loss most eloquently. 

“He was not defined by his abilities in the saddle, or by the races he has won,” Shepherd said. “What defined him to us, those lucky enough to have known him, and I really do mean lucky, was the human being he was.

“He was a great friend, he was incredibly kind, and I think he thrived off making those around him happy. Certainly he was far more bothered about others than he was about himself.”

There can really be no finer tribute than that. It has been a terribly sad week, and we offer sincere condolences to Stefano Cherchi's family and friends. His life was celebrated at a remembrance mass in Sydney on Monday and another service will take place on Sunday, April 28, at Our Lady Immaculate and Saint Etheldreda Church in Newmarket. He will not be forgotten. 

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Classic Sibling Awaited At Historic Röttgen

There can be no better breeding home run than for a mare to produce a Derby winner as her first foal. In the case of Gestüt Röttgen's homebred Wellenspiel (Ger) (Sternkoenig {Ger}), this auspicious entree to her stud career happened not once but twice, with her first two foals both becoming winners of the G1 Deutsches Derby.

Windstoss (Ger) (Shirocco {Ger}) and his half-brother Weltstar (Ger) (Soldier Hollow {GB}) are the product of nine generations of Röttgen breeding, stretching back to the purchase of one of the stud's first mares, Winnica (Pol), around 1930. Wander back another five generations beyond her and you will find the Hungarian superstar mare Kincsem (Hun).

The brothers' consecutive Classic wins led to champion breeder honours in Germany in 2017 and 2018 for the long-established Cologne farm. In fact, Röttgen is closing in on its century as a Thoroughbred stud, having been founded in 1924 in the grounds of Röttgen Castle by owner Peter Paul Mülhens. Following the death in 1985 of Maria Mehl-Mülhens, the stud has remained in the ownership of the Mehl-Mülhens family trust and is managed by Frank Dorff. The family's name appears in the title of the German 2,000 Guineas, the Mehl-Mülhens Rennen, which is run at its local racecourse of Cologne.

Windstoss and Weltstar revived a Derby heritage for Röttgen which began in 1932 with its first winner of the race, Palastpage (Ger), but had stalled since the 1959 victory of Uomo (Ger). There will undoubtedly be high hopes for three younger half-sisters of the recent Derby winners who have been retained by the stud.

“Wellenspiel's 2-year-old by Dubawi (Ire) has been named Well Disposed and she will go into training with Markus Klug by the end of this month,” says Dorff, who will be able to keep a close eye on the filly's progress at Klug's private training centre within the walls of the extensive grounds at Röttgen. Well Disposed will join her 3-year-old half-sister Wellenpracht (GB), who is from the first crop of resident stallion Protectionist (Ger).

He adds, “Wellenspiel also has a yearling filly by Sea The Stars (Ire). She will not be offered for sale. The plan is to retain her for breeding, hopefully after she has won some Group races.”

Wellenspiel is currently in foal to Soldier Hollow, and is therefore carrying a full-sibling to the second of her Derby winners, but she will be rested this year owing to her late covering date. Röttgen will, however, be breeding from 29 mares in 2021, including five maidens.

Other members of the Rottgen 'W line' include the G3 Preis der Winterkonigin winner and G2 Diana Trial runner-up Well Spoken (Ger) (Soldier Hollow {GB}). The daughter of the champion 2-year-old Well American (Bertrando) is currently in foal to Areion (Ger) and will be covered in France this year by Haras d'Etreham's young stallion Almanzor (Fr).

The Gestut Rottgen-bred Wirko (Ger) (Kingman {GB}) was the most expensive colt sold at the BBAG Yearling Sale of 2019 when bought for €700,000. The Godolphin colour-bearer won on his second start for Charlie Appleby in November and his dam Weltmacht (Ger) (Mount Nelson {GB}) was one of the early foalers at the stud this season, delivering a filly from the first crop of Arc winner Waldgeist (GB). She heads next to Soldier Hollow.

Of wider international acclaim is Röttgen's 'A family', which includes the farm's 1981 G1 Preis der Diana winner Anna Paola (Ger) (Prince Ippi {Ger}). Her descendants have continued to make an impression across the racing world and they include the 1000 Guineas winner Billesdon Brook (GB) (Champs Elysees {GB}), Australian-born stallion Helmet (Aus) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}), who is now at stud in Germany, as well as the Champion Hurdle winner Annie Power (Ire) (Shirocco {Ger}).

Members of this family remaining within the Röttgen broodmare band include the G2 Diana Trial winner Akribie (Ger), from the first crop of Reliable Man (GB), who will visit Juddmonte's Oasis Dream (GB) in her first season.

Anna Desta (Ger) (Desert Style {Ire}) has already produced last season's listed Derby Trial winner Adrian (Ger) and she will visit that colt's sire Reliable Man again. Her daughter Anna Katharina (Ger), by the late Röttgen homebred stallion Kallisto (Ger), is in foal to Ballylinch Stud's New Bay (GB) and has another visit to Ireland on the cards as she is booked in to Camelot (GB) at Coolmore.

The stud's more precocious 'D family' is represented by the treble listed winner Diatribe (GB) (Tertullian), who descends from the same clan as Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom and is the dam of dual Group 3 winner Degas (Ger) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}) and G3 Mehl-Mülhens Trophy runner-up Dina (Ger) (Nathaniel {Ire}). Her 2-year-old filly by Lope de Vega (Ire) is now in training in France with Philippe Decouz for owner and footballer Antoine Griezmann, and this year the mare will visit Too Darn Hot (GB) in Newmarket. The maiden Dapriva (Ger), a daughter of Pivotal (GB), is also bound for Britain and will return to Cheveley Park Stud, were she was conceived, to produce a variant on the successful Galileo-Pivotal cross with a visit to Ulysses (Ire).

For all studs in mainland Europe, there have been extra complications involved this year when it comes to sending mares to British stallions since the UK's departure from the EU.

“Brexit is a big problem for breeders,” Dorff explains. “Most breeders sent their mares before to England before the end of December. I hope by the time the mares have to come back from England, there will be a better working solution for the transport of horses.”

The 18-year-old Kastila (Ger) (Sternkoenig {Ger}) has been a stalwart of the Röttgen ranks with three of her offspring all having been placed at Group 1 level. Of those, Kassiano (Ger) and Kasalla (Ger) are both by Soldier Hollow, and Kaspar (Ger), who was third in last year's Deutsches Derby, is a son of Pivotal (GB). The proven producer will visit Best Solution (Ire), whose first foals are arriving this season in Germany, after she has foaled to the multiple Group-winning sprinter/miler Millowitsch (Ger), one of three sires currently resident in the elaborate Röttgen stallion wing.

Millowitsch, who joined the stallion ranks last season, has a rather unusual stud fee for 2021 of €1,111, which is derived from the fact that the 8-year-old son of the Titus Lives (Fr) stallion Sehrezad (Ire) is named in honour of Cologne comedian Willy Millowitsch. The carnival in the city has the traditional and equally unusual start time of 11.11am on Nov. 11 each year.

While Millowitsch's sireline is relatively obscure, the same cannot be said for his barn mate Protectionist (Ger), who has the somewhat forlorn honour of being the final son of the celebrated Monsun (Ger) in Germany.

“We have big hopes to keep the legacy of Monsun alive,” Dorff says of the Melbourne Cup winner whose victories closer to home include the G1 Grosser Preis Von Berlin. “Monsun's progeny weren't really precocious, and Protectionist's offspring are not really precocious either. It is remarkable that he has had two 2-year-old black-type horses already.”

Still in the ownership of Australian Bloodstock, Protectionist retired to Röttgen in 2017 and his fee has remained at €6,500 throughout that time. The stud's support of its own stallions down the years is evident in the pedigrees outlined above and that remains the case with the current trio.

Dorff continues, “With Well Protected (Ger), who is out of [listed winner] Weichsel (Ger), and Wellenpracht, who is a half-sister to two Derby winners, we have two very nice 3-year-old horses by him in training who we think should be able to win black-type races this year. Protectionist's Australian owners are sending him around 10 mares each year and he receives some very good mares from us each year as well. He is also quite popular in Germany as more or less every big breeder has sent him mares in the last few years. But we have to realise that the number of mares in Germany is dramatically lower than in France, England or Ireland, so the number of his offspring is not comparable with stallions out of these countries.”

This season, Gestüt Röttgen has welcomed back Sven and Carina Hanson's Reliable Man (GB), a Group 1 winner in both France and Australia whose stock have fared similarly well in both hemispheres and include the G1 VRC Oaks winner Miami Bound (NZ) and G1 New Zealand Oaks winner Miss Sentimental (NZ). The 13-year-old, who shuttles to New Zealand's Westbury Stud, started his European career in Germany in 2014 and spent three seasons in France from 2018. As a son of the late Dalakhani (Ire), Reliable Man is one of the few remaining representatives of the Mill Reef line at stud, along with Sir Percy (GB) at Lanwades.

Dorff says, “We are very happy to have Reliable Man back in Germany. He is very well booked by the German breeders because in this country we have only a few proven stallions like him. We also expect some French mares to come as Germany is much closer and easier than going to England these days. For mares from abroad we offer a transport allowance, which reduces his fee.”

He adds, “Reliable Man has around 110 2-year olds from his first year standing in France to run in 2021 and so should have excellent season.”

As a member of the purchasing syndicate, Röttgen also has an interest in the fledgling career of another globetrotter with top-class form in Germany and Australia: Best Solution. A rare middle-distance runner by Kodiac (GB), he won the G1 Caulfield Cup as well as the G1 Grosser Preis Von Baden and G1 Grosser Preis Von Berlin, and he retired last year to stand alongside former German champion sire Soldier Hollow at Gestut Auenquelle.

“He covered the biggest number of mares in Germany last year and he is also very well booked this year. I'm really looking forward to seeing the foals by him that we are waiting for,” Dorff says of the 7-year-old stallion who was sent 71 mares in his debut season.

The fact that Best Solution's book was the largest in the country is a telling indication of the relatively small pool of mares in Germany. Last year, 29 stallions covered 778 mares, and the champion sire Adlerflug (Ger) had a book of just 39, though that is significantly larger this year, with increased interest from France, Britain and Ireland.

Dorff sees reasons for optimism, however, despite the ongoing disruptions of the Covid pandemic. He says, “The numbers of mares covered in 2020 was the same as the year before and I hope that the number of mares covered will stay stable this year as well. German racing is weak and the prize-money, compared to France, is very low. We therefore have a weak inland market for our yearlings. If you are a German breeder, you have to breed with fashionable stallions to be able to sell the yearlings to someone abroad, or you are an owner-breeder who has to pay the training fees. There are few people breeding for the domestic market.”

He adds, “But I have learned that some breeders who haven't had horses for a while have started to have an interest in breeding again. Maybe that's because they couldn't go on holiday this year—who knows? The stock market has also had a record-breaking year, so money is still around. This is a big chance for us.”

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