Dardanos springs major upset in Deutsches Derby
3YO colt hands trainer Andreas Wohler sixth victory in Germany’s premier classic
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Dardanos (Wladimir Panov) returning to a jubilant reception after he claimed the Group 1 Deutsches Derby (2,400m) in Hamburg on July 5.
PHOTO: WETTSTAR.DE/MARC RUHL
HAMBURG – It was a huge upset in the €650,000 (S$960,000) Group 1 Deutsches Derby (2,400m) in Hamburg when three-year-old colt Dardanos emerged victorious in the big field of 18 on July 5.
Trained by Andreas Wohler, the $331-rank outsider was written off by many before the running of the 157th edition of Germany’s time-honoured classic, which dates back to 1869.
The son of Soldier Hollow was winless in three starts at two, but made an immediate impact at his first run for Wohler when getting off the mark in a Maiden race over 2,000m at Dortmund on May 14.
Dardanos took another step forward in the Hoffnungspreis – Derby Trial Listed Stakes (2,000m) at the same track on June 21, finishing a length behind Quitos in second.
This time, he led home a Liberty Racing trio of Chiefland, Salitos and Kairos, recording only the second victory of his career and a first success at Group level in the race also known as the German Derby.
Ridden by jockey Wladimir Panov, Dardanos got off to a good start, albeit briefly relinquishing the lead but remained near the front of the 18-horse field.
He sat in second behind Chiefland (Cieren Fallon) before Kairos (Leon Wolff) swept to the front along the back straight and opened up approaching the final bend.
Dardanos launched an early attack in the home straight, producing a strong finish to win comfortably by one length over Chiefland.
Salitos (Bauyrzhan Murzabayev) and Kairos finished in third and fourth respectively.
Things, however, did not go as well for most of the favourites: Bay Of Brilliance, who travelled from England and finished fourth in the Group 1 Epsom Derby (2,400m) on June 6, came in second last for trainer Ralph Beckett.
Wohler’s highly regarded Gostam fared a bit better in 10th, while the winner of the most important Derby warmup race Union-Rennen (2,200m), Englishman, finished only sixth for Marcel Weiss.
A fixture in German racing for many years, Panov was only at his fifth German Derby ride and his previous best finish had been ninth.
He shook his head in disbelief as the pair returned to deafening cheers by the Hamburg crowd after their triumph.
“It’s incredible – the greatest day of my jockey career,” said Panov.
Wohler, who has won the Derby five times previously with Pik Konig (1992), Belenus (1999), Waldpark (2011), Isfahan (2016) and Laccario (2019), had expected significantly better chances with his other two runners, Gostam and Westminster Rocket (13th), but noted the improvement Dardanos has made since his last race.
“It remains a unique experience,” he said.
“Training had shown that Dardanos had improved enormously since his second-place finish in the Derby Trial, but nobody could have predicted by how much.”
Dardanos – the progenitor of the Trojans in Greek mythology – was bred by Barbara Holubova from the Czech Republic.
His sire, Soldier Hollow, is one of the most successful German stallions in recent decades.
Dardanos is Soldier Hollow’s third Derby winner. As a yearling, Stall Bergholz purchased Dardanos for €10,000. His owners are Hans-Wilhelm Jenckel from Hamburg and Friedrich von Lenthe. DEUTSCHER GALOPP
