MOON JUST FANTASTIC IN GERMAN DERBY

MOON JUST FANTASTIC IN GERMAN DERBY

Written on 02/07/23 by Darren Thrussell (info@anglogermanracing.com)

FANTASTIC MOON, inspired by an outstanding ride from jockey RENE PIECHULEK, landed the 154th running of the IDEE German Derby at Hamburg on Sunday, which once again carried Group 1 status and a prize fund of 650,000 Euros.

Winner on three of his four previous races, Fantastic Moon went into Sunday’s race on the back of a very impressive victory in a Group 3 contest at Baden-Baden, despite running off a true line in the closing stages. However, jockey Piechulek made clever use of the horse’s wide draw. Making for the stand side rails entering the home straight, Piechulek brought Fantastic Moon with a terrific run, the pair coming home 2¼ lengths clear of Mr. Hollywood, with Weracruz, the only filly on the race, running a huge race at odds of 60.6-1 to finish third.

Trained in Munich by Sarah Steinberg, Fantastic Moon won both his starts at two, the second when winning the Group 3 Preis des Winterfavoriten at Cologne in October. Having finished third on possibly unsuitable heavy ground at Munich on his seasonal debut at Munich, Fantastic Moon put that performance behind him when securing his aforementioned Baden-Baden victory, By Sea the Moon, who won the German Derby in 2014, Fantastic Moon was hugely impressive on Sunday, and could well be aimed at the very top international races in the future.

You can see Sunday’s German Derby here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6f92WEfzWc

Photo: Jockey RENE PIECHULEK, who rode FANTASTIC MOON to victory in the 154th running of the IDEE German Derby at Hamburg on Sunday (Photo copyright Darren Thrussell/ Anglo German Racing).