Co-favorite Sammarco, ridden by champion jockey Bauyrzhan Murzabayev, won the 153rd German Derby on the racecourse in Hamburg-Horn on Sunday. It was a very close decision.
Sammarco prevailed in the race for the coveted blue ribbon against the great outsider Schwarzer Peter (Andreas Helfenbein). Third place went to the favorite So Moonstruck, ridden by jockey world star Frankie Dettori. Cologne coach Peter Schiergen achieved his sixth derby win with Sammarco.
“That’s a really good horse, we had the perfect race,” he said, overwhelmed. The derby was endowed with 650,000 euros. 390,000 euros go to the winning Park Wiedingen stud farm owned by Helmut von Finck.
Delay at start: Not enough space for 20 horses
The race started 25 minutes late. The track at the starting point was too narrow for 20 horses in the starting boxes arranged side by side. Boundary rails first had to be dismantled before the derby could start. Some horses remained calm in the waiting phase in the blazing sun, others became restless. However, according to experts, this did not have an impact on the outcome of the race.
In any case, Sammarco benefited from the delay. “I had a fantastic race and also an excellent starting position,” said Murzabayev. The 29-year-old Kazakh has been riding in Germany for a number of years and has recently won the national jockey championship three times in a row, although he has not won the derby so far.
The mare Wagnis, who was also rated as strong, did not get past eleventh place. “Starting position 20 on the outside wasn’t good from the start,” said jockey Hollie Doyle: “That cost us a better placement.”
Torquator Tasso wins the Grand Hansa Prize
Germany’s best racehorse had already returned with an impressive performance on Saturday. The five-year-old stallion Torquator Tasso won the Grand Hansa Prize for 70,000 euros in front of 5,000 spectators under Rene Piechulek, almost four lengths ahead of Northern Ruler (Eduardo Pedroza) and Virginia Storm (Antonio Fresu).
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Hamburg Journal | 07/03/2022 | 19:30 o’clock
