As an owner or trainer of racehorses, you have dreams. And that is a good thing. Torquator Tasso`s Arc victory last year proved that even the wildest expectations can come true. Sammarco`s Derby triumph for Helmut von Finck`s Park Wiedingen Stud after almost 40 years in the metres a few weeks ago was another example. But the saying "dreams are dreams" is also well known and shows that for some people a little more realism would be in order.
For example, the horse Leipzig started on 9 July in the Grand Prix of the state capital Magdeburg, the first group race on the track at the Herrenkrug. At the age of six, this stallion has never won, a second place was the best result so far. Whether he will ever manage to show the competition the irons remains to be seen. However, that did not stop owner-trainer Martin Mayer from fielding Leipzig at Group level after he had already competed once at List level in 2019. The result in Magdeburg is well known, completely beaten, Leipzig trundled in 61 lengths behind the penultimate. Where else could he have finished.
But that was not enough. Because owner-trainer Manfred Türk also has a 44-kilo horse in his stable, Nablirka, who, however, has already offered a little more, won a race and was placed seven times. So this mare is in good hands in the Equalisation IV. Fourth place was the result in Cologne on 10 July, which certainly corresponded halfway to her ability. But this mare also got a Group engagement, in the Fritz Henkel Foundation Race on 7 August, the Diana Day in Düsseldorf. Again a Group III test.
Quite apart from the costs (the money could have been better donated to charity or invested elsewhere) - what`s the point? There used to be horses that ran in the RennQuintett race because of the fees, but there is not the slightest thing to be earned here, unless all the other candidates were to go the wrong way or some other misfortune were to befall them. German gallop would do well to only allow horses above a certain GAG for group races. Horses weighing 44 kilos are simply taboo if their environment overestimates them. We should put a stop to this.
