“It made the hair on the back of my neck stand up with enthusiasm,” said the managing director of the Munich racing club, Sascha Multerer, describing the appearance of the six-year-old gray Skalleti in the Grand Dallmayr Prize on Sunday at the horse racing track in Munich-Riem. The way in which the French guest won the Group I race, endowed with 100,000 euros in prize money - one of only seven in Germany - is only inadequately described by the word impressive. Unfortunately, due to the corona, only around 1000 visitors were allowed to the extensive area of ​​the racetrack, although a few weeks ago there were more than 14,000 football fans in the Munich arena.

The gelding owned by Jean-Claude Seroul was named after the race for 10,000 euros, the prize money was 60,000 euros.

Skalleti started as the 1.3: 1 favorite and, as expected, turned out to be too tough for the five starters trained in Germany.

Over the 2000 meter course, Maxim Pecheur tried the breakaway tactic on the four-year-old mare Tabera.

The French globetrotter Gérald Mossé, who has won more than 70 Group I races in the saddle for more than three decades, looked at the whole thing from behind on Skaletti.

Four starts, four wins

In the finish arc, Pecheur accelerated again and for a short time sat down more than ten lengths. But Mossé was not deterred: "It's never easy to be patient, but I was always sure that we would win," he said. "You let the pacemaker go a little too far, so I followed up early so as not to make it too difficult for Skalleti." Only with his hands - as always Mossé rode in white gloves - he briefly pushed the white horse on, which closed immediately to the tired Tabera and in the end won with five lengths ahead of the best German Grocer Jack and the strong mare No Limit Credit.

It was the fourth group win for Skalleti this year in four starts, two of them now at the highest level.

The trainer is the rising Frenchman Jerome Reynier, who prepares his horses in Marseille.

It is extremely unusual for such a top horse to come from the south of the country, the racing province.

"We are very happy.

It was our first win in Germany, ”said Reynier.

"The big goal of the season is Ascot in October with the Champion Stakes, we were second there last year." Then we went to Hong Kong and this trip went completely wrong.

"It took Skalleti a good two months to recover, we didn't know whether he would return to the racetrack."

Success for German thoroughbred breeding

Reynier has completed the “Godolphin Flying Start” training program, which promotes young talent in racing. Vinzenz Schiergen, the son of the German top trainer Peter Schiergen, is one of the current participants, the English trainer Charlie Appleby is a successful graduate. He even trains for the full-blooded Godolphin empire of Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Raschid al Maktoum.

With the three-year-old Adayar, Appleby currently has the best horse in Europe over the classic 2400 meter distance in the stable.

Because the stallion confirmed on Saturday with the success in Ascot in the King George VI.

& Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, the most important summer race in Europe over 2400 meters, his victory in the English Derby.

Against only four, albeit high-ranking competitors, he easily won by almost two lengths ahead of the Saudi Cup winner Mishriff and earned the prize of more than half a million euros for Godolphin.

But it was also a bit of a success for the German thoroughbred breeding: Four generations back on the maternal side, the mare Anna Paola of the Röttgen stud appears in Adayar's pedigree, who was a great racing horse herself, but an even bigger dam mare.