Breeders' Cup Turf berth at stake in Grosser Preis Von Baden

Iquitos will be favored to win the Group 1 Grosser Preis Von Baden at Baden-Baden Racecourse in Germany for the second consecutive year on Sunday, a race that offers a fees-paid berth for the winner to the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Del Mar on Nov. 4.

Iquitos had a European and Asian campaign following his win in the 2016 Grosser Preis Von Baden, a season that ended with a seventh in the Grade 1 Japan Cup at Tokyo Racecourse last November.

This year, Iquitos has been first or second in three starts, the most recent of which was a win in the Group 1 Grosser Dallmayr-Preis at 1 1/4 miles on turf at Munich on July 30.

The $296,475 Grosser Preis Von Baden is run at 1 1/2 miles on turf and drew a field of seven, including Windstoss, the winner of the Group 1 German Derby at Hamburg on July 2. This will be the first start against older horses for Windstoss, who is trained by Markus Klug.

Windstoss is one of three 3-year-olds in Sunday’s race, along with Best Solution, who was second in the Grosser Dallmayr-Preis, and Colomano, who was 13th in the German Derby.

Best Solution is owned by Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin Racing and trained by Saeed bin Suroor. Their team also start Prize Money, who was fourth in the Group 1 Dubai Sheema Classic in the United Arab Emirates in March and sixth in the Grosser Dallmayr-Preis.

Iquitos was 9-5 in early betting for the Grosser Preis Von Baden on Friday. A 5-year-old horse by Adlerflug, Iquitos is trained by Hans-Jurgen Groschel.