 Expert - Catrin Nack | |
|---|---|
| Catrin became hooked with racing when she watched ZAUBERER ploughing through the mud to win the German Derby in 1978. She ventured into racehorse-ownership in 1994, and this horse, a mare, is still with her at the tender age of 30. Catrin and her husband have been running several syndicates, mainly with homebred horses, and continue to breed in partnerships. She joined the German racing newsletter Turf-Times as a freelance writer in 2010 and has been contributing about English and Irish racing, with a focus on National Hunt, until 2023. | |
Expert Column for Grosser Preis Bayerisches Zuchtrennen Day (S3) (Catrin Nack)
S3-1 Grosser Preis Bayerisches Zuchtrennen
The Grosser Preis Bayerisches Zuchtrennen, one of only seven G1 races in the country, is open for 3YO and older horses, and run over 2,000m. Always well maintained with a good coverage of grass, the weather and thus the ground conditions are of obvious interest. The track measured mainly soft at the middle of the week, with raising temperatures forecast. Rain is due to arrive during racing on the Sunday, the amount of which is unclear yet.
Nine horses have been declared for this race, two 3YO’s taking on seven older horses, with one filly in the line-up. International flavour is added by one runner from France. CALIF, formerly trained in Germany and now based in France. While 4 wins from 21 starts shows a mixed profile, his latest win in a French G3 over todays trip – after spending time in Arabic country early in the year – clearly was a step in the right direction, though it is worth noting that he seems to favour better ground. He might get stronger and more ground-independent with age though but has to cope with an outside draw.
The obvious starting point for win purposes is FANTASTIC MOON, the highest rated horse in the field. After his emphatic win in the 2023 G1 Deutsches Derby, the son of SEA THE MOON added two more G2 races to this tally, latest when winning at that level in Cologne over a slightly longer trip. 2,000m and soft ground should be near ideal conditions, but he has been withdrawn on heavy before and wouldn’t want too much rain to arrive.
3YO PENALTY, a rare son of FRANKEL at these shores, is lightly raced and of interest after beating elder horses in a G3 on his last start. He is aided by a pacemaker in the shape of DOWNTOWN, so connections clearly mean business.
International renown trainer Andreas Wohler sends two horses, STRAIGHT and WESTMINSTER MOON. Stable jockey Eduardo Pedroza elected to ride the latter, whose sparse German form (the horse was trained in Poland before) is not strong enough yet. STRAIGHT has been out of form for some time now, if he were to return to the pick of his 2023 form, he would be interesting at larger odds.
WINTERTRAUM, the second 3yo in the field, comes here after a midfield finish in the G1 Deutsches Derby three weeks ago. Stepping down in trip and with a new jockey on board he is a very interesting contender if the Derby didn’t leave a mark.
SELECTIONS: 3. FANTASTIC MOON, 9. WINTERTRAUM, 1. CALIF, 7. QUANTANAMERA & 8. PENALTY
DOUBLE SELECTIONS (4 unit bets):
S3-1: Multiple – 3. FANTASTIC MOON & 9. WINTERTRAUM
S3-2: Multiple – 3. PARIS MON AMOUR & 9. HESHIMA
S3-2 HKJC World Pool Handicap
The HKJC World Pool Handicap sees 13 runners lining up. Again, the trip is 2,000m but as is due in this sort of race many horses are in with a chance.
ASHIANAS KING, one of two 3YO in the field and representing powerful connections won one of his two starts to date and could be “anything”. Taking on elder, experienced handicappers is never easy at this time of the year, and the handicapper did not do him many favours, but this impeccably bred colt may well have more to offer.
PARIS MON AMOUR represents a trainer not known for exploiting handicappers so must be interesting under a promising claiming jockey, while TANTE TILLY and HESHIMA have top jockeys booked and are tentative choices in a typically open field.
SELECTIONS: 3. PARIS MON AMOUR, 9. HESHIMA, 7. TANTE TILLY, 4. ASHIANAS KING & 5. LIMBO DANCER
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