An Arc winner for Gestüt Lünzen
- Luis Kimmel
- 5. Feb.
- 4 Min. Lesezeit
In 2015, Thomas Witt and Nikolas Schenke broke new ground by founding Gestüt Lünzen in Schneverdingen. And just in time for their 10th anniversary, they were able to acquire a real superstar for the German breeding industry last November: Arc winner and four-time Group 1 winner WALDGEIST (Galileo). GaloppDaily was able to speak to stud manager Thomas Witt at the annual breeders' meeting at Gestüt Röttgen.
With BEST SOLUTION (Kodiac), MILLOWITSCH (Sehrezad), ACCON (Camelot) and Waldgeist the stud now has four stallions stationed in the Lüneburg Heath. According to Witt, the stud has a direct interest in Millowitsch and Accon. Best Solution and Waldgeist are each owned by a syndicate. Gestüt Röttgen, the Baum family and Manfred Ostermann's Gestüt Hof Ittlingen are the driving forces behind Best Solution. Ballylinch Stud and the Jacobs and von Boettichers families are responsible for Waldgeist.
‘One of the most upwardly mobile studs anywhere in Europe’
Nick Luck describes Gestüt Lünzen as ‘one of the most upwardly mobile studs anywhere in Europe’. You can hear this in the Nick Luck Daily Podcast from 28 February 2025. Just ten years after its foundation, the stud has managed to present breeders an Arc winner and a Caulfield Cup winner. Best Solution won the G1 Stella Artois Caulfield Cup in Australia, the G1 128th Longines Grosser Preis von Berlin and the G1 146th Longines Grosser Preis von Baden for Godolphin, all in 2018. His stud career began at Gestüt Auenquelle. ‘He should first come to us on vacation and it was clear that he settled in well. And then in 2022 we were approached about keeping him for the breeding season also. Ballylinch Stud was looking for a stud in Germany for Waldgeist. And it was through a friend of a friend that we got in touch,’ recalls Witt.
Satisfied even without a group winner
Former Godolphin runner Best Solution is showing his second crop of three-year-olds this year. Although the first group winner is still to come, Witt is very pleased with Best Solution and 2024. ‘The two-year-olds were very convincing. Hopefully we can build on that and fulfil the wish of his owners' syndicate to bring a bit of early maturity into the breed.’
DELGARDO, GOLDAUE and TURF SUMY are the leading offsprings of Best Solution in the current Derby crop. All currently got an official rating of at least 84 and have already secured blacktype. Goldaue even won a listed race in September with the Dinger's Gartencenter Köln - Winterkönigin Trial 2024 and became the first blacktype winner for her sire. The first group win by a Best Solution offspring seems only a matter of time. The stallion has five colts on the German Derby nomination list. In addition to Delgardo, they are DÜX, LOKI, KOLUMBAN and SHIRAZ.
€6.000 for an Arc winner – best value in Germany?
Waldgeist has two nominations for this years German Derby. Darius Racing entered BEHRUZ, Liberty Racing entered DIAMOND SPIRIT for the Hamburg highlight. When asked why the 2019 Arc winner had to leave Ireland, Thomas Witt replied: ‘In my opinion he just didn't fit into the market in England and Ireland because of his rather late maturing pedigree. They want early speed and he doesn't really stand for that, which is why the number of mares there has dropped rapidly. Of course, they thought about it and came to the conclusion that he would be best suited for Germany.’
As well as Waldgeist, there is another Arc winner in Germany. TORQUATOR TASSO (Adlerflug) continues to stand at Gestüt Auenquelle for €20,000. His oldest crop are currently yearlings. Waldgeist has won three other Group 1 races in addition to the Arc, including the Criterium de Saint-Cloud as a two-year-old. Is the Galileo son, out of an internationally renowned dam line, the best value sire in Germany for a stud fee of €6.000? That remains to be seen, says Witt: ‘But an Arc winner and a horse with such potential, as things stand today, is certainly damn good value.’
‘Leading by example’
It is no secret that the current situation of horse racing in Germany is not an easy one. According to Deutscher Galopp, the number of broodmares in the country has fallen to 1065. This is a problem that also affects stallion owners. According to Witt, bookings for Best Solution have dropped slightly, but after the first four breeding seasons this is more the rule than the exception. Now it is time for the progeny to prove themselves on the racecourse.
The demand for good stallions in Germany is enormous at the moment, so it is not surprising that the big names are also interested in Best Solution and Waldgeist. ‘Gestüt Röttgen, Gestüt Brümmerhof, Gestüt Etzean and so on have sent mares to Best Solution every year. These are some of the top breeders. As far as I know, Waldgeist is also in demand by major breeders’.
In addition to local breeders, international breeders have also taken notice of Gestüt Lünzen. Best Solution, in particular, has had great success with some of his offspring in Italy, which has now sparked interest. ‘I think I have heard that mares from France have already been registered with Waldgeist, as well as from Scandinavia. All in all, there is already interest from abroad. And Scandinavia and Italy in particular are on the rise, so we would be delighted to open up a new market,’ says Thomas Witt of his four protégés at Gestüt Lünzen.
There are now four stallions at Lünzen. Last year there were only two, but according to Nikolas Schenke they are still far from the end of the line. Asked by Nick Luck where the confidence comes from to continue expanding under these circumstances, Schenke replied: ‘Someone has to do something, and if we all stop doing things and just complain about everything, it won't get any better. We have to lead by example.’ Things are going well at the moment and if everything continues to go according to plan, it is quite possible that even more stallions will come to Lünzen.’
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