Germany’s best racehorse returned with an impressive performance in Hamburg 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).
The “Galopper of the Year”, who Marcel Weiß trains in Mülheim/Ruhr for the East Westphalian stud farm Auenquelle, was quite lost at his first start of the season a few weeks ago in Baden-Baden in the “Grand Prix” of the spring meeting there.
“In Hamburg we will see a completely different Torquator Tasso”, his trainer had already announced and the horse then showed it. In the home stretch of the 2400 meter race, last year’s winner in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, the most important horse race in the world, broke away from the competition with a growing lead. Co-favorite Alter Adler, who had won in Baden-Baden, was only fifth this time in a race that hardly suited him.
Torquator Tasso will now compete in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes on July 23rd at Ascot, England. “There’s nothing else out of the question,” said owner Peter-Michael Endres, “then it’s off to Baden-Baden for the Grand Prix and then the title defense in Paris.”
The “King George” are the most important summer Grand Prix of European turf, where the derby winners from England and Ireland also compete.