Acatenango on his way to the Longchamp turf, for the 1986 Prix de l´Arc de Triomphe; he finshed a honorable 7th -and not beaten far- in one of the strongest fields ever assembled in that fabled race.
(Photo: Jim Clark)
Image:
German racing is at a low for some time now, but german-bred horses were on an all-time high recently, courtesy of horses like Shirocco and Hurricane Run.
Its not that german horses did not win races abroad before, but with no Internet and lesser press-coverage it was not easy for them to gain the well-deserved international recognition.
Acatenango´s (*1982 Surumu - Aggravate (Aggressor)) name might break your tongue (his coffee-producing owner-breeder liked to name horses after his coffee-countries, and this one was named after a volcano in Guatemala), but his performances on the track broke many a record, and he is still regarded as one of the best german racehorses ever. His feat of winning 13 pattern races (of which 7 were Group I races) has been equalled but never bettered, in fact he did win 12 races in a straight row, by no means a mean feat itself.
Acatenango was born in 1982, a chestnut son of Fährhof Stud´s pre-eminent (chestnut) sire Surumu, himself a German Derby-Winner who would go on to become Champion-Sire. After a rather quiet first season (1 win and 2 third places from 5 starts), Acatenango was clearly not the first string in his trainers yard as a three-year-old, but in 1985 he proved a revellation. 6 wins from 6 starts are the mere figures to his breathtaking season, Acatenango´s wins included the German Derby, the Union-Rennen and the Gr.I Aral-Pokal, he simply was unbeatable in Germany. 1986 continued where he stopped, and after two runaway successes on the local soil it was Group-Glory abroad when he did run away, just as easy, with the Gr.I Grand Prix de St.Cloud, a wonderful win for his ambitious owner. A convincing win in Germany´s most important race, the Großer Preis von Baden, left only one option: The Prix de L´Arc de Triomphe; and while the horse was the right one, his timing wasn´t as Acatenango arrived in a year when Longchamp saw one of the strongest fields ever assembled at the starting gates: from England came the Derby-winner Sharastani and his runner-up (and KING-George winner) Dancing Brave as well as Shardari, the french challenge incl. Bering, Triptych, Darara, St. Estephé and Baby Turk, to name just half the field. Acatenango´s jockey Steve Cauthen was very hopeful ("We will win") but this was one step too high, and when his partner could do all but run on after an early breathtaking pace, others could quicken all around him, none faster than a certain Dancing Brave, who stormed home under an inspired Pat Eddery to win by 1 1/2 length, with our german hope hanging on for life and a good 7th place, beaten around 6 length. This was no disgrace, but it would cost dearly: finished for that season, Acatenango started his five-year-old campaign with a win, but was never to really regain his old form. He was still good in Germany, but a third place of 4 behind Triptych was all he could manage in England, and he was never a factor behind Mtoto in the King George. His last win would come when he took the 1987 Großer Preis von Baden for the second time, but he had to fight very hard to beat horses he´d formerly beat on the bridle, and I do remember thinking: "He will not win again". Acatenango had to run once more though, a fact his trainer was highly self-critical about later, and I was there to see him trailing in a distance 8th, beaten by horses he did not talk to before. It was a sad day, and the picture of his leg-weary departure through the crowd, nearly unnoticed, still haunts me today. He clearly would have deserved a better farewell.
Acatenango was retired to his owners stud and wasted no time in establishing himself as an outstanding sire. His son Lando won the German Derby 8 years after he himself had won it (in fact Acatenango won his Derby exactly 8 years after his own sire too), his daughter Borgia brought the house down in 1997 when being the first filly to win the race since 1955. His classy sons and daughters are too many to count, and when he was retired from Stud-duties in 2003, he clearly was one of the most important sires ever to have stood in Germany. I was very lucky to see him quite regular in his later life, and even though age was beginning to tell at some stage, he was his same sparkling self right to the end, a king in command of his empire. A paddock accident claimed his life in 2005.
If you have read Lomitas´story elsewhere on this site (if not, go there quickly!), you will know a bit about Walther J. Jacobs and his Fährhof Stud. You will have even read the name Lirung (*1982 Connought - Liranga (Literat)).
In the Eighties Fährhof Stud was the most successful Studfarm in Germany by far. Their horses and their distinctive yellow and black silks were all-conquering. In 1982, when the above mentioned star-racer Acatenango was born, another little chestnut foal was delivered on the stud, and while the former was the son of a homebred son of Literat, the latter was out of a homebred daughter by Literat called Liranga, who had been sent to be mated with the stout St. Paddy-horse Connaught the year before. Though sharing the same colour, both horses were very different in appearence otherwise, Acatenango being the true powerful,lean stayer; but Lirung with his big white face and white stockings developed in a power-packed machine, a sturdy, muscular bull of a horse, and his destiny was to become of one of Germany´s best Milers ever.
Both horses entered training with Heinz Jentzsch, one of the last true horsemen to train in Germany. Lirung had three races as a 2-year-old and won them all, meeting -and beating- his stable-mate Acatenango twice. So no points for guessing who was the stable star and Derby-hopefull for 1985! The horses where kept apart in their first two outings, and Lirung wasted little time to prove his talent when becoming a Classic winner early on, winning the German 2000 Guineas in decisive fashion. He was then stepped up in trip to contest a 1m2f Derby-Trial in Bremen and won just as well, but in hindsight the field that day might not have been the strongest. Lirung was favourite for the German Derby, traditionally run on the first sunday in july, and his very confindent jockey George Bocskai tried to make the running. Lirung would not win the Derby, you know that Acatenango chose this race to stamp his superiority over the longer trips, but it was class and character that carried Lirung to an excellent 3rd place. Lirung bounced back with a win over 10f, and his trainer, always one to place himself in the best and his horses in the worst company, restricted Lirung´s two further 1985 outings to two Gr.III races, and they where easy pickings.
As with Acatenango, 1986 meant serious work and different opposition. An easy start to the season meant an easy win, then came three defeats in a row, but Lirung´s best hour was just round the corner. The stage was Deauville, the race the Gr. I Jacques le Marois, and Lirung was their master, storming home on the stand side, aided by the american wonder-kid Steve Cauthen. This surely was Lirung´s finest hour.
Lirung would have only three more races. He won two and failed honourably to beat all the foreign aces in Longchamp, but when in 1987 he was bound for Italy for more Group-glory, disaster struck. Lirung caught some sort of infection and had to be transfered to a clinic, where vet´s fought in vain for his life, but this was a battle this stout, massive horse would not be able to win. All medical care could not prevent the virus from spreading and infecting his organs, and after many months of fighting Lirung had to be put out off his misery. A cruel blow for his owner and german breeding.
But the glorious memory of Lirung will remain for a long time.
On holy french Turf: The Soldier benefits from a fine ride to win the Prix Dollar, Longchamp 2006, beating a certain Manduro (not in the photo)- in fact he is, at time of writing, the last horse to do so.
(Photo: Jim Clark)
Image: Soldier Hollow
Owning and running racehorses should be, but very rarely is, all about fun: breed it, raise it, run it and - win with it. Helmut von Finck did not breed Soldier Hollow, but bought him as a yearling, and certainly this little son of In The Wings gave him more fun, pleasure -and success- than any other he bred, raised and raced in what is now and hopefully will continue to be a long and honourable engagement in the German turf.
The first time we noted this brown son of the Common Grounds-mare Island Race was in 2002 in September in Düsseldorf, when our filly Belle Fee made her start to what proved to be a rather unsuccessful career in racing, and this fellow did take his second race from as many starts in style, with a certain Dai Jin, who went on to win the German Derby in 2003, behind. The Soldier made it 3 wins from 4 starts when beating a strong field in a noted German Guineas trial at the beginning of 2003 (he beat subsequent German Derby second Ransom o´War and subsequent German Champion Miler Eagle Rise in style) but after a below-par performance in the Guineas itself disaster struck: Soldier Hollow went down with a potential life-threatening illness, and while he fought in vain for his life others could collect major honours in what is such a crucial season for every racehorse. It is testimony to his immense will, fighting spirit and heart that he not only survived what could have been the untimely end to such a promising life, but came back bouncing, as good and ultimately better than ever. Close to his owners heart after these exertions, The Soldier wasted little time to run himself into the heart of the racing public too. (He was, in fact, voted "Horse of the year" in 2004).
12 wins from 31 lifetime starts make good reading, even better though when considering that 4 Group I wins are among those, and on a glorious sunday in august 07 The Soldier broke the 1 million Euro prize money barrier when taking one of these Gr. I races in grand style, on his owners local track, to the ultimate delight of his whole team. The Soldier won 10 Group races in total and is, for good measure, the only horse we can think of who won at least one Stakes-race in every season from 2-7 (!) years!! His merits on the racetrack stand for all whats good in a thoroughbred: class, will, heart, determination are combined with good looks here as well, and fans will certainly miss him dearly, his eager face with his ears pricked all the time when soaking in the atmosphere in the paradering, taking it all into his stride.
Soldier Hollow will take up stallion duties in Gestüt Röttgen in 2008, and we wish him all the very best for his new career.
See his homepage at www.soldier-hollow.de
Group 1 winner now - Toylsome´s glorious return after winning the Prix de la Foret, Paris Longchamp 2007
(Photo: Jim Clark)
Image: Toylesome
Another horse where owning has been and still is all about fun: Toylsome. Born in 1999, by Cadeaux Genereux out of the The Minstrel-mare Treasure Trove, and bought by Baron Ullmann (of Manduro-fame) as a yearling, Toylsome was early enough to run as a two-year-old, but could only finish down the field. 2002 was a different matter with Toylsome winning 4 races incl. a Group III from only 6 starts, earning a GAG (Germanys Handicap measure) of 94kg. Toylesome continued to race season after season and did win at least once every year, mainly at his beloved Munich; but as so often the case with sprinters it was rather difficult to find his best trip - he seemed best at 7f, but did win over 6 and 6 1/2f as well - as well as the right class - he did win several Listed Races and even the above mentioned Gr. III as a three-year-old, but at times the gap to Group-races seemed to wide to bridge. 2006, Toylesome was 7, was restriced to only two races - he did win at Munich in june- but an injury forced a long break after that. A switch of trainer in between meant that in 2007 Toylsome was back for new trainer Jens Hirschberger, who took over as a private trainer for the Ullmann-family including Schlenderhan-Stud in a new State-of-the-Art- training facility. Making a belated debut to his 8-year-old season, his 7th in training, Toylesome just never looked back: he started in a small race in Bremen where, for the first time ever, he was able to score over 8f; he scored back-to-back wins in his favourite Munich Sprint race, then went down by just a head to Germany´s pre-eminent sprinter Lucky Strike in a Gr. III in Cologne. At the tender age of 8 Toylsome contested his first Gr. I race when acting as a pacemaker for his owners world-beater Manduro in the prestigious Prix Jaques le Marois in Deauville, and was by no means disgraced finishing a honourable 4th, beaten just under 8 length. Toylie bounced back to wonderful form when fighting all the way for yet another Munich success in a three way driving finish, and then came Cologne: the stage was another Listed race, but the style of his win told us that here was a horse still improving, still able to give even more: sent off a nice 5-1 chance he met a field of decent sprinters and even though he was entitled to beat them on weights in our eyes (but for some reason not in the local press), he was on previous form by no means entitled to run away from them by 6 length but thats exactly what he did - always leading he simply found another gear in the straight to run his rivals ragged: a horse in command and clearly still very much in love with the game. Toylsome earnt his hightest-ever rating of 96,5kg - being an entire he could be a stallion now - as well as having a crack in one more Group I race, on his own account all the same - so come to Paris for the Arc weekend where he will contest the Prix de la Foret! We will be there hoping for another golden day, but clearly everything Toylsome does now is a bonus, as he has brought so much pleasure to all and clearly does not owe anybody anything. Its heartwarming to see the enthusiasm and zest with which he still goes to work, and we have to thank his connections for sharing him with us for so long. May the golden streak continue for a little longer!
UPDATE: HE DID IT !! What was only hopes and dreams when I wrote the passage above became glorious reality on the 6th of october 2007 - Toylsome again did not only win, he destroyed a really useful field full of Gr. I winners. Never headed he simply ran away from the likes of Welsh Emperor, Red Evie, Dutch Art, Tariq etc.
What a horse - what a day!
Update 22/10/07: Toylsome left Newmarket with his head held high after running a massive race in defeat to finish 3rd in the Gr. II Challenge Stakes. Giving weight all around the very soft ground and the very stiff 7f incl. the Newmarket hill just found Toylsome out in the closing stages, but again he ran his heart out and is none the worse for his extortions.
Update 2008: Wonderful Toylsome has been retired from racing and has more than earned his place as a sire. He stands at Gestüt Erftmühle near Cologne, and his fee is 5000€
Currently (2007) the best stayer in Germany:Quijano, being paraded in Cologne Sep.2007
(Photo: Jim Clark)
Image: Quijano
Acatenango´s sad demise in 2005 brought down the curtain on a highly successfull life on and off the track - hopefully you have just read his own chapter. Acatenango left many brilliant horses and some stallion sons behind, he did not, however, leave a son of his or near to his own calibre behind for his homeplace, Fährhof Stud. His last crop is 3 at time of writing (Sep. 2007) and includes the talented Conillon - but wait - Acatenango left a horse behind that is currently the joint best stayer in Germany, but unfortunatly Quijano (*2002, Acatenango-Quila (Unfuwain)) is lacking two very vital items for a successful stallion career; he is a gelding.
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