Catrin Nack's Bio

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.

Dusseldorf Racecourse – Track Analysis (Preis der Diana ‐ German Oaks Day)

Dusseldorf is on the outskirts of the industrial Ruhr region, a polycentric urban area, historically known for coal and steel. Dusseldorf racecourse is situated in the north-east of the city; located in a wooded area the racecourse is certainly one of the more picturesque tracks in the country. As has been mentioned before, every track in Germany is an oval / round track, unlike Britain or Ireland where some tracks have U-forms or even a figure of eight. As Germany tracks come Dusseldorf is certainly the most uncommon. The shape resembles a triangle rather than an oval, with three sharp bends. Roughly 1900m in circumference, the track is right-handed and undulating, with a very sharp bend into the home straight. It is downhill on the far sight, but uphill after. Depending on the distance of the race, horses have to negotiate two or three individual bends. Due to the width of the track a maximum of 14 or 16 horses respectively can start in any given race.

Preis der Diana ‐ German Oaks Day sees two races for coverage.

The G1 Preis der Diana ‐ German Oaks will be run over 2200m. Starting stalls are positioned in the middle of the home straight, with a very short run to the first bend; the race has three bends in total. The track has a definite draw bias, with higher numbers certainly a disadvantage. The relatively short run to the first bend will make life hard for slow starters and/or horses who miss the break. Any extreme draw (very low or high) must be considered a disadvantage, and hard-luck stories are sadly quite common in full fields. Previous course knowledge is a definite plus for any contender; and it is worth noting that some horses may be trained at the track.

The HKJC World Pool Handicap will be run over 1500m, just short of a mile, the starting stalls are yet again positioned close to a bend, so comments made for the Oaks apply again. While the longer race distance of the Oaks may give horses time to recover, the draw definitely has to be taken into consideration when weighing up chances, as again a full field (of only 14 over this trip) is expected.

Disclaimer:

The above content and information are the personal views and/or opinions of each individual writer and do not represent the views of The Hong Kong Jockey Club and/or its subsidiaries (together, the "HKJC"). The content and information are provided by the writers solely for entertainment purpose only, and should not be construed as a suggestion for anyone to place any bet nor should they be taken and/or relied upon as advice of any kind. The above content and information have not been verified, confirmed and/or endorsed by HKJC and HKJC shall not be liable to any person for any loss or damage suffered by such person as a result of any use or reliance of the above content or information.

HKJC shall not be required to give and does not give any warranty, whether express or implied, arising out of or in connection with the content or information. The Club disclaims any responsibility and accepts no liability (whether in tort, contract or otherwise) for any direct or indirect loss of damage arising from any inaccuracies, omission or typographical errors that may be contained therein. The Club also does not warrant the accuracy, completeness, timeliness or fitness for purpose of any such information.