GERMANY had seemed to have unearthed a top class colt this summer when Fantastic Moon, ridden by Rene Piechulek and trained by Sarah Steinberg, ran out the two and a half length winner of the Group 1 Deutsches Derby in July, a historic win for the trainer.

He was subsequently beaten three lengths by Godolphin’s Nations Pride in the Group 1 Grosser Dallmayr-Preis - Bayerisches Zuchtrennen at the end of that month but he reappeared in the Group 2 Qatar Prix Niel and sparked an Arc bid when he ran out a ready winner from the previous Group 1 Grand Prix de Paris winner, Feed The Flame. It was not to be though and he finished only 11th behind Ace Impact in the big race. He carries the colours of Liberty Racing.

Another progeny of Sea The Moon took the Preis der Diana fillies’ classic, this time Muskoka was ridden by Lukas Delozier for Henk Grewe in the colours of Stall Golden Goal. She was subsequently sold for €1.3 million to Zhang Yuesheng at the Arqana Arc Sale.

French raider Simca Mille took the Hoppegarten feature, the Group 1 Grosser Preis von Berlin by three lengths from Sisfahan and Assistant in August.

The five-year-old mare India won the Group 1 61st Preis von Europa at Cologne in September, beating Jessica Harrington’s Trevaunance by a length and a half with Godolphin’s favourite, Siskany in third and Assistent fourth.

Assistent again took a Group 1 placing in the final Group 1 of the season when he finished ahead of India, this time when second, and she third to André Fabre’s Junko (Bauyrzhan Murzabaye) in the Group 1 Grosser Allianz Preis von Bayern in Munich in November. The race got a boost when the French-trained winner went on to Hong Kong and won the Longines Hong Kong Cup.