Serienholde merits respect facing older males in Grosser Preis von Baden
It has been five years since the wonderful filly Danedream won the Group 1 Grosser Preis von Baden as a 3-year-old filly facing older males, and perhaps Serienholde can reprise Danedream’s first of two consecutive wins in the race on Sunday at Baden-Baden Racecourse in Germany.
Serienholde is one of 11 entrants in the Grosser Preis von Baden, a 1 1/2–mile race expected to be contested over “good” ground, and part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Win and You’re In series, offering the winner automatic entry into the BC Turf. plus travel expenses to the race at Santa Anita this year.
It’s not that Serienholde has been spectacular in her brief three-race campaign, but the Grosser Preis von Baden lacks standout performers this year: Even last year’s victor, Prince Gibraltar, had form a cut above what’s generally on display Sunday. Serienholde, trained by Andreas Wohler, finished second going one mile in her debut and has won two straight stretching out to longer trips and should stay 12 furlongs in her first try at the distance. She was stepped up to Group 1 competition last out and won the German Oaks by a half-length over Sarandia, but it’s that race’s third-place finisher, Architecture, that hints Serienholde might be for real. Architecture, the even-money favorite, had finished second in the Group 1 Irish Oaks and second to Minding in the Group 1 English Oaks earlier this year.
Serienholde gets a big break in the weights from her older male rivals and pulls three pounds from male 3-year-olds like Boscacio, who is better than his eighth-place last-out finish in the German Derby. Boscacio had won the first three starts of his career before that mid-pack finish over heavy going that he probably failed to handle. Dschingis Secret, another 3-year-old trying Sunday’s race, finished third in the German Derby but had been beaten by Boscacio in two previous meetings.