Derby duo to fly German flag in Berlin showpiece

BERLIN – With two German Derby winners, three top-class late entries and the largest field since 2011, the Westminster 136th Grosser Preis von Berlin promises an international highlight on Aug 9.

Scheduled to start at 9.40pm Singapore time, the €155,000 (S$229,000) Group 1 race over 2,400m at Hoppegarten will set the stage for a mouth-watering showdown between the newly crowned German Derby winner Dardanos and 2025 winner Hochkonig.

Leading trainer Andreas Wohler, who also won the Group 1 Preis der Diana (2,200m) with Soreanga in Dusseldorf on Aug 2, has the chance to win a third Group I within a few weeks with Dardanos.

The Soldier Hollow colt from the Bergholz stable caused the biggest surprise in Derby history at odds of 84-1. Entered at the last minute, he will now get the opportunity to confirm this performance with Eduardo Pedroza – Soreanga’s winning partner in the Diana – in the saddle.

Among the nine-horse field, Hochkonig, prepared by Yasmin Almenrader, will on paper present the toughest opposition to Dardanos.

The now four-year-old entire by Polish Vulcano had to take a long break after the 2025 Group 1 German Derby (2,400m) heroics on July 5, but seemed to be approaching top form again this season.

In the Group 2 Grosser Hansa-Preis (2,400m) in Hamburg on July 4, when he was ridden by Jack Mitchell as he will be on Aug 9, Hochkonig was not quite suited by the difficult ground, but still ran a creditable fourth.

It was Global Health who surprisingly won the Hansa-Preis and was thrown in as a late nomination by trainer Fabian Xaver Weissmeier for the Westminster 136th Grand Prix of Berlin on Aug 4.

But the German hopes, who also include the four-year-old mare Innora (trainer Henk Grewe), as well as the three-year-old colts Abachi (Peter Schiergen) and Bright Light (Andreas Suborics), will have to deal with very serious international competition.

Top UK trainer Andrew Balding sends three-time winner Almeric, who may not boast a stellar CV but has raced in elite company.

The grey four-year-old entire by Study Of Man recently ran third twice, once behind Rebel’s Romance and once behind Ombudsman, both absolute world stars from the Godolphin yard.

The famous Blue Army will itself saddle two thoroughbreds: The already 10-year-old Dubai Future, who, as recently as last May won a Group 3 race to make it a haul of 10 wins, and Tornado Alert, who is well known to German racegoers.

The son of Too Darn Hot won the Group 1 Grosser Dallmayr-Preis (2,000m) in Munich in 2025, when winning jockey Oisin Murphy famously made the “Ich liebe Deutschland” (I love Germany in German) post-race comment.

Tornado Alert has taken a break since, but trainer Saeed bin Suroor paid up the late entry fee after he was pleased with what he saw in his comeback preparation.

Almost a permanent guest in Germany is Tiffany, the six-year-old Farhh mare trained by Sir Mark Prescott in Newmarket. Already a Group 2 winner and thrice a runner-up at Group 1 level in Germany, she is long overdue for success at the highest level.

The home team will still be out to thwart the foreign brigade, with the biggest anticipation being whether Dardanos can frank his Derby form and cement Germany as a leader in the thoroughbred breeding industry.

The last Geman-based winner of the Grosser Preis von Berlin, which has been run since 1888, was six years ago – none other than the later Group 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Torquator Tasso for trainer Marcel Weiss.

Wohler himself has won the race three times, but they were well spaced out over two decades. After champion Lomitas opened his account in 1991, the Gutersloh conditioner had to wait 12 years before Sabiango got up in 2003.

It took him another 13 years to conquer the Berlin classic with Protectionist, who also rewrote German turf history as a Melbourne Cup winner two years earlier in 2014.

The message is clear. Germany needs a homegrown competitor who can measure up on the global stage to win its capital’s biggest race. DEUTSCHER GALOPP