Munich Sunday

Grosser Dallmayr-Preis (Group 1)

TOMORROW’s Grosser Dallmayr-Preis at Munich is not only Germany’s best race over the distance of 2,000 metres, it is also the only Group 1 this weekend in Europe.

It has been won by many top-notch performers in recent years, but that will probably not be the case this time, as the field is, with all due respect, relatively weak for a Group 1, Seven were declared on Wednesday, and with the expected supplementary entries failing to materialise, that will be the final field, with five of them trained in Germany and two raiders from France.

Coming only three weeks after the German Derby at Hamburg, German three-year-olds rarely run here, but this time the Derby winner himself, Gestüt Park Wiedingen’s homebred Sammarco, will take part.

Previous to Hamburg he had won the Group 2 Union-Rennen, so can claim to be the top three-year-old in Germany, but both their victories were very close affairs, so the Derby form is by no means set in stone.

Last week two German three-year-olds flopped in a group race at Hoppegarten, and of course, we have last week´s King George with more evidence that Derby winners do not always beat their elders next time out.

It seems that trainer Peter Schiergen preferred to run here rather than wait for Baden-Baden, as is often the case with Derby winners, and we also have the example of Pastorius, who won both races in 2012.

However, Sammarco is the one to beat, and also has the highest rating. Fellow three-year-olds Queroyal, trained by Andreas Wöhler, reopposes and although he only finished ninth of 20 at Hamburg, he was only beaten just over two lengths and will be better suited by this trip. Among the older German-trained runners, Best Of Lips and Rubaiyat must both be given a chance if at their best. The two French runners must also be respected, Dawn Intello is trained by Andreas Schütz, who in his earlier German career won this race in 1998 with Elle Danzig.

Dawn Intello was runner-up in the Gran Premio di Milan last time. Whether this form will suffice remains to be seen. Of more interest could be the Aga Khan’s five-year-old mare Ebaiyra, who is still searching for her first Group 1 after several group race successes at a lower level. She won a listed race at Chantilly last time very easily; this is a big step up, but she seems to have the best credentials.