Overdose loses for first time

Overdose’s unbeaten record came to a crashing end at Baden-Baden on Sunday as the Budapest Bullet weakened to finish seventh as the 3-5 favorite behind the 7.80-1 Amico Fritz in the Group 2, $89,000 Godene Peitshce, Germany’s championship sprint race.

A loser for the first time after 14 victories, Overdose’s pre-race behaviour may have cost him the race as he acted like a prima donna during the preliminaries, delaying the start by eight minutes as he refused to load, twice unseating his rider Christophe Soumillon. Once installed, Overdose did as expected, shooting to a lead which he maintained until the eighth pole, at which point he was swamped, beaten ultimately by 5 1/4 lengths.

Trained in France by Henri-Alex Pantall and ridden by Fabrice Veron, Amico Fritz prevailed by a half-length from Contat with British raider Gilt Edge Girl three-quarters of a length back in third. The time for the six furlongs on soft ground was 1:11.38.

Overdose’s task had apparently been made easier when two of his most dangerous rivals, War Artist and Triple Aspect, were scratched because of the soft ground, conditions which, on the face of it, should have aided Overdose, who suffers from tender feet. But on this day, everything went wrong for the darling of the central European racing world.

Owner Zoltan Mikoczy still plans send Overdose to Longchamp on Oct. 3 for the five-furlong Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp, the race he “won” two years ago only to have the result voided due to a starting gate that failed to open.