Iquitos' victory in Germany earns berth in Breeders' Cup Turf
Iquitos notched the first Group 1 race of his career Sunday at Baden-Baden when he won the Grosser Preis von Baden by 2 3/4 lengths over Nightflower.
The Grosser Preis von Baden is a Breeders’ Cup Challenge “Win and You’re In” race linked to the BC Turf, and Iquitos earned an automatic berth in the race plus entries fees and travel expenses to Southern California. But it’s rare for German horses to contest Breeders’ Cup races, and Iquitos beat a field of only modest Group 1 quality and probably would be no match for horses such as Flintshire in a race such as the BC Turf.
But on Sunday he was plenty good enough to win the Grosser Preis von Baden over 12 furlongs on good turf, the Irish jockey Ian Ferguson guiding Iquitos to the front in the final furlong as he comfortably took the measure of Nightflower. Pagella finished another five lengths back in third as the field spread drastically at the finish.
Trained by Hans-Jurgen Groschel, Iquitos is by the In the Wings sire Adlerflug, and his dam, Irika, traces through a German family for at least six generations.
Four-year-old Iquitos’s best win before Sunday came this past May in the Group 2 Grosser Preis der Badischen Wirtschaft.