Who will be Horse of the Year?
- Luis Kimmel
- 9. März
- 8 Min. Lesezeit
Defending champion, Oaks winner or perennial favourite? FANTASTIC MOON (Sea The Moon), ERLE (Reliable Man) and ASSISTENT (Sea The Moon) are in the running for Germany's most important racing title: Galopper des Jahres. Germany's best racehorse is to be honoured for the 68th time. Fantastic Moon could defend his title from last year and bag another big point in his illustrious career. Only 12 horses have been voted Galopper des Jahres more than once so far. Liberty Racing's Superstar will face two other stayers, Erle and Assistent. Assistent, bred by Gestüt Röttgen, where he now also performs his stallion duties, also began his racing career in the blue/gold Liberty Racing colours. In 2023, he then was bought by Eckhard Sauren. It has been a long time since a filly has won the Galopper des Jahres crown. You have to go all the way back to 2015, when NIGHTFLOWER (Dylan Thomas) prevailed against NUTAN (Duke Of Marmelade) and ITO (Adlerflug). And despite all the successes, there has never been a Röttgen winner. Erle could now change that. The convincing winner of the G1 166th Henkel - Preis der Diana - German Oaks remains in training this year. There could be a reunion in May in the G2 Prix Corrida in France.
ASSISTENT
SEA THE MOON x ANNA KALLA (Kallisto)
Owner: Eckhard Sauren
Breeder: Gestüt Röttgen
Trainer: Henk Grewe
Earnings 2024: 180.000€
Assistent more than earned his Group 1 win last November. In what felt like every group race for stayers in recent years, the Sea The Moon-son has taken a starting place. Assistent got off to a convincing start in 2024 with an ‘Easter Monday walk’ on 1 April, in which he left Group winner BEST OF LIPS (The Gurkha) standing by six lengths in the Grand Prix Aufgalopp (L). In the G2 Carl Jaspers Preis, Assistent consequently came to the wire as the favourite and defending champion, but was beaten by LORDANO (Adlerflug) in the final metres. It was not until the end of the year that Assistent really got back into his stride. The foundation for the later Group 1 win was laid in Iffezheim in October. Assistent and Thore Hammer Hansen came into the G3 Baden Galopp Herbst Trophy as 2.2 favourites. And even after the long break of over three months, the duo did not let anything get in their way. The next goal was clear: G1 Grosser Allianz Preis von Bayern - a last attempt to win a Group 1 race after having already tried six times at the highest level. These included a fourth place in the 2022 G1 German Derby, a third place in the Westminster 133rd Grosser Preis von Berlin and, not to forget, a second place in the same Grosser Allianz Preis von Bayern a year earlier.
‘Odds-on outsider’ would probably have been the correct description of Assistent on this day, given the odds of 13.4:1. After a world-class ride by Hammer Hansen, Henk Grewe's protégé really pulled away and caught the English raider TIFFANY (Farhh) on the line.
Owner Eckhard Sauren had the perfect words for the newly crowned Group 1 winner after the race: ‘This is such a fighter. He has so much heart. 450 kilos of heart.’
A look into the past
It was only last year that a horse whose sire was not stationed as a stallion in Germany was voted Galopper des Jahres. The last time this happened was in 2015, when Stall Nizzas Nightflower took the title. The sire of this year's Galopper des Jahres will also be a ‘foreigner’. Although SEA THE MOON (Sea The Stars) is german-owned, he stand in Great Britain and RELIABLE MAN left Germany in 2022 and is now stabled at Westbury Stud in New Zealand.
Sea The Moon already produced the Champion of the Poll last year with Fantastic Moon, and now the 2014 Derby winner has two irons in the fire.
Fantastic Moon could now be the Galopper des Jahres for the second time after he replaced TORQUATOR TASSO (Adlerflug) in 2023. The 2021 Arc winner had previously won the crown three times in a row. A feat previously only achieved by OROFINO (Dschingis Khan) and ACATENANGO (Surumu). Fantastic Moon would stand as a two-time Galloper des Jahres in a row with horses like the G1 Japan Cup winner LANDO (Acatenango), the Arc and King George winner DANEDREAM (Lomitas), the 1967 German Derby winner LOMBARD (Agio) or the two-time winner of the G1 Grosser Preis von Baden TIGER HILL (Danehill).
A filly or mare has won the Galopper des Jahres award seven times to date. Danedream took the title twice in 2011 and 2012. However, Danedream was not able to win the G1 German Oaks. To find an Oaks winner in the Galopper des Jahres winner list, you have to go back to 2009. Back then, NIGHT MAGIC (Sholokhov) won the classic fillies race at Düsseldorf. The other female champions of choice were LAS VEGAS (Luciano), who won the 1984 German Oaks, the G1 Aral-Pokal and the G2 100th German St Leger. The aforementioned Nightflower only came second in the Oaks in 2015. In 1957, the Galopper des Jahres was sought for the first time and THILA (Magnat), the reigning Oaks winner, immediately won the newly introduced title of honour. 40 years later, the 1997 Derby winner was voted Galopper des Jahres. However, the great BORGIA (Acatenango) had to admit defeat to QUE BELLE (Seattle Dancer) four weeks before her legendary Hamburg triumph in the Oaks.
At five years of age, Assistent would be the oldest winner of the election since IQUITOS won the title for the second time in 2018 at the age of six. Only Torquator Tasso, IT'S GINO (Perugino), QUIJANO (Acatenango), PAOLINI (Lando) and SILVANO (Lomitas) have been five years old this millennium. In 2007, Quijano was the only successful gelding to date. Perhaps the most extraordinary Galloper des Jahres was probably SHIROCCO (Monsun) in 2005. Shirocco contested his three-year-old campaign under the direction of trainer Andreas Schütz, who was based in Cologne at the time, and won the 2004 German Derby. However, Gestüt Park Wiedingen's SOLDIER HOLLOW (In The Wings) was voted Galloper des Jahres that year. It was only the following year that Shirocco, owned and bred by Georg Baron von Ullmann, was voted best horse of the year in Germany. In Germany? Not really, as the son of Monsun continued his career with trainer Andre Fabre in France from 2005. He won the G1 Breeders' Cup Turf in the USA and the G1 Coronation Cup in Great Britain in 2005 and 2006.
ERLE
RELIABLE MAN x KIZINGO (Oasis Dream)
Owner: Gestüt Röttgen
Breeder: Gestüt Röttgen
Trainer: Maxim Pecheur
Earnings 2024: 341.000€
The Röttgen native competed four times in 2024, winning three times. Erle celebrated her season debut at Düsseldorf in April. She convincingly defeated the Gestüt Fährhof Derby hopeful QUEIMADOS (Sea The Stars). The Reliable Man-daughter then made her first appearance at Group level at Hoppegarten. The G3 Diana-Trial was a real thriller. Less than half a length separated the winner Erle and the fourth-placed NEW YORK CITY (Sea The Moon). The Oaks ticket was secured with this victory. At 3.45 p.m. on 4 August, the gates opened for the G1 166th Henkel-Preis der Diana - German Oaks. And right from the start, Martin Seidl and Erle made one thing clear: there is only one place for Röttgen today and that is right at the front. And the duo organised the race accordingly. They immediately secured the lead and did not relinquish it until the finish. A performance that is certainly unrivalled.
And even though Erle did not manage to finish higher than fifth in the G1 Mehl-Mülhens-Stiftung - 62nd Prize of Europe, we can be pleased that she will remain in training in 2025.
Where is the Derby Winner?
Galopper des Jahres and the Derby winner isn't even nominated? For the first time since 2020, the reigning winner of the Derby is not up for election. Five years ago, however, the Derby winner was IN SWOOP (Adlerflug). He was prepared in France. The last german German Derby winner not to be nominated for the Galopper des Jahres award was ISFAHAN (Lord Of England) in 2016. Nine years ago, it was a three-way battle between the eventual winner IQUITOS (Adlerflug), G1 Premio Roma winner POTEMKIN (New Approach) and G1 Melbourne Cup winner PROTECTIONIST (Monsun).
The reigning Derby winner has only been voted Galopper des Jahres three times this millennium. One of the three is of course Fantastic Moon, who emulated his sire Sea The Moon as a double winner last year. The third of the three is the 2000 Derby winner SAMUM (Monsun).
Some Derby winners have been voted Galopper des Jahres later in their careers, but not in the year they won the Derby. Torquator Tasso in 2020 and RANSOM O'WAR (Red Ransom) in 2003 were both runners-up in the Derby in the years mentioned. SCALO and PRINCE FLORI (both Lando), who finished ninth in the German Derby in 2010 and 2006 respectively, were voted Galopper des Jahres. Of course, neither of them were crowned for their Derby performances. Prince Flori won the G1 134th Volkswagen Grosser Preis von Baden for Sascha Smrczek in 2006 as a 27.4:1 outsider. Scalo pushed the champions Night Magic and Quijano into second and third place in the 2010 Preis von Europa. The Derby runner-up Torquator Tasso won the G1 Longines 132nd Grosser Preis von Berlin in 2020, Ransom O'War the G1 Dallmayr Preis at Munich.
FANTASTIC MOON
SEA THE MOON x FRANGIPANI (Jukebox Jury)
Owner: Liberty Racing 2021
Breeder: Graf & Gräfin von Stauffenberg
Trainer: Sarah Steinberg
Earnings 2024: 240.000€
“Fanta ist wieder da” ("Fanta is back") are the words of Marvin Schridde's choice for Fantastic Moon's victory in the G2 Grosser Preis von WETTSTAR.de at Cologne. Fanta is also ‘back’ in the Galopper des Jahres voting. The Liberty Racing galloper had already clinched the title in 2023 and is now set to defend it.
However, the year began with a defeat in the BSV Spezialtiefbau GmbH Preis von Dahlwitz (L). A second place behind the Derby runner-up MR HOLLYWOOD (Iquitos). And things did not run smoothly in France afterwards either. Last place in the G1 Prix Ganay. It wasn't until June that it was finally ‘Fanta is back!’
In July, the Sea The Moon-son then attacked again in a Group 1 race. On his doorstep in the Dallmayr Preis at Munich , he was only beaten by the good CALIF (Areion).
In 2023, there was a major drama surrounding the G1 Grand Prix of Baden. Fantastic Moon was of course involved. Or rather ‘not part of the party’. First he was supplemented, then he was scratched on race day itself due to the ground. Exactly one year after this incident, Fantastic Moon came to the wire at Baden-Baden and delivered his best career performance in the G1 WETTSTAR.de - 154th Grosser Preis von Baden. He put 1 1/4 lengths between himself and the globetrotter DUBAI HONOUR (Pride Of Dubai). A victory that his sire Sea The Moon was denied in 2014.
They then tried again in the G1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and the G1 Japan Cup. Achieved ninth and eleventh place in Paris and Tokyo respectively.
After the season, Fanta moved to Gestüt Ebbesloh as a stallion and is now trying to pass on his fast genes there.
Germany's oldest public vote runs until 14 March. You can vote via the link below - and there's something to win too.
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