Quijano leads Deutschland-Preis cast at Dusseldorf

All of Germany's best older horses will line up at Dusseldorf on Sunday for the Deutschland-Preis, a Group 1, 1 1/2-mile race worth $245,000. The best of them may be Quijano, the winner of the Grosser Preis von Baden and the Gran Premio di Milano at this level and distance.

A 6-year-old son of Acatenango trained by Peter Schiergen, Quijano is a well-deserved 3-2 favorite, as his international experience and nose for the finish line have earned him 12 victories in 19 starts around the world. Third in last fall's Canadian International, just a length behind the winner, he preceded his Milan victory with a fifth-place finish behind Arlington Million-bound Archipenko in the 1 1/4-mile Queen Elizabeth II Cup in Hong Kong.

Last year's German Derby winner, Adlerflug, who was second by a neck in Quijano's Grosser Preis von Baden, showed signs of returning to form when he was a close third in the Group 2 Hansa-Preis last time.

The Hansa-Preis winner, Egerton, is an inconsistent sort who rarely wins two in a row, but It's Gino is a threat off his win in a 1 3/8-mile Group 2 at Baden-Baden in May.

Prince Flori, the 2006 winner of the Grosser Preis von Baden, has been off form of late, while Anton Chekhov, who won the Group 2 Prix Hocquart and was third in Adlerflug's German Derby when trained by Aidan O'Brien, has failed in two starts for Waldemar Hickst. Little Fighter, second in the Group 2 Oppenheim-Union-Rennen, represents the 3-year-old generation.