Soreanga smashes her rivals in G1 German Oaks

DUSSELDORF – Soreanga is the new mare to be crowned queen and winner of the 168th Henkel Preis der Diana, the classic also known the world over as the German Oaks.

In front of a full house at the Dusseldorf racecourse of Grafenberg on Aug 2, the daughter of Siyouni won Germany’s most important fillies race, a Group 1 €500,000 (S$739,000) event over 2,200m, at the lukewarm odds of $29 on the Singapore tote.

Up in the saddle was long German-based Panamanian jockey Eduardo Pedroza, who was chalking up his fifth success in the Preis der Diana.

Winning trainer Andreas Wohler was not only at his seventh hurrah, but he had also secured the rare German Derby and German Oaks double in 2026, having saddled Dardanos to win the former a month ago in Hamburg on July 5.

Singapore racing fans may remember the Dortmund-based trainer for his winning feat at Kranji with world champion Silvano in the Singapore Cup in 2001.

That day the future champion South African sire sported the famous yellow and black colours of Gestut Fahrhof, one of Germany’s leading breeding barns – which were also donned by Pedroza aboard Soreanga on Aug 2.

Owned and bred by Gestut Fahrhof in Sottrum, Soreanga, a three-year-old filly out of Galileo mare Saltita, enjoyed an economical ground-saving run in the box seat behind race-leader Isfana (Dario Vargiu), with race favourite Lapotheose (Alexis Pouchin) right on her hammer.

Once Soreanga found the decisive gap into the straight, she raced away from the rest of the field. She stamped her class with a blistering acceleration to easily dominate Lapotheose, one of only two overseas raiders in the 15-horse field, both from France.

The Yann Barberot-trained Lapotheose held down second spot 3½ lengths away, leaving jockey-turned-trainer Andreas Suborics with the third and fourth spots to contend with.

Coincidentally, the Austrian-born Suborics happens to have been Silvano’s regular partner and was also aboard at that Singapore Cup triumph.

Now a trainer, Suborics saddled the third-placed Noble Lips (Benjamin Marie) and fourth-placed Gua Lipa (Antoine Hamelin), who would, however, never have threatened the winner, beaten more than six lengths astern.

“It’s fantastic to have won my fifth Diana here in Düsseldorf,” said Pedroza, who moved to Germany in 1995.

“I knew we had to have a good chance. I always had a good feeling we’d have a top race.

“She had improved again in the final work and is a great galloper.”

Despite being a regular visitor to the Preis der Diana’s winner’s circle since landing the first of his seven hurrahs 35 years ago with Martessa in 1991, Wohler has become anything but blase with another success.

“Soreanga also coped very well with the ground today,” he said enthusiastically.

“She did not like it in Hamburg, but still managed to win and she had needed that race.”

Gestut Fahrhof also boasts a prolific resume in the German Oaks, having now added a seventh title to their tally, but more than three decades after their last one brought up by Risen Raven in 1994 when the race was staged at Mulheim. The first came with Leticia in 1980.

Now a three-time winner, Soreanga clocked 2min 12.42sec for the 2,200m at the Grafenberg racecourse, the third fastest time since the first edition in Dusseldorf in 2006. DEUTSCHER GALOPP

Additional reporting by Michael Lee