Kamsin returned to form just in time to capture the $840,000 German Derby at Hamburg on Sunday as he thundered to a three-length victory over longshot Ostland.
Kamsin, trained by Peter Schiergen, scored at 6-1 after having failed as the favorite in the Group 3 Bavarian Classic last time. He gave rider Andrasch Starke his fifth German Derby triumph. Schiergen also saddled the the 17-1 runner-up.
Mount Nelson came with an undeniable late run to nip Phoenix Tower on the line in the $991,000 Eclipse Stakes at Sandown Park on Saturday. Powered home by jockey Johnny Murtagh, Mount Nelson gave his trainer, Aidan O'Brien, his 12th Group 1 triumph of the year.
Delays in the construction of a new grandstand at the Curragh, as well as the development of the surrounding area, will result in the closing of the Irish racecourse from July 26, 2009, until the opening of the 2011 season in March of that year, the Irish Turf Club announced Friday.
Challengers from England, Ireland, and France will give this year's German Derby a novel international flavor at Hamburg on Sunday when 17 go forward in the $840,000 1 1/2-mile race
King of Rome, trained by Aidan O'Brien, has been installed as the 9-4 favorite off his third-place finish in the listed 1 1/4-mile Hampton Court Stakes at Royal Ascot last month, but the price on this Montjeu colt is deflated by the reputation of his connections.
Bookmakers and their clients in England are having a difficult time deciding who to make the favorite in Saturday's Group 1 Eclipse Stakes at Sandown Park. Ladbrokes offer both Mount Nelson and Phoenix Tower at 7-2 in the 1 1/4-mile contest, which has come up well short of its usual high standard despite carrying a purse of $991,000.
Plans for a 10-race series of British Group 1 races with total prize money of $20 million were unveiled in London on Wednesday. The new Sovereign Series, to start in 2010, will consist of 10 existing races, each of which will have its purse increased by an average of about $600,000. In addition, a bonus of about $4 million will go to the owners of the horse who accumulates the most points in the series.
Good Ba Ba was named Hong Kong's Horse of the Year at the Hong Kong Jockey Club Champion Awards ceremony at Sha Tin on Tuesday, the final day of the 9 1/2-month 2007-2008 racing season.
The 6-year-old Lear Fan Kentucky-bred, trained by former German champion Andreas Schutz for Se Kit Yuen, won four Group 1 races in Hong Kong this season, three of them at his favorite distance of a mile: the Hong Kong Mile, the Champions Mile, and the Stewards Cup. He also beat Sacred Kingdom, who was named champion sprinter, in the seven-furlong Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup.
Fallout from Sundays roughly run Irish Derby continued on Tuesday when the connections of Curtain Call filed an appeal with the Irish Turf Club over the ruling that placed Alessandro Volta fourth, ahead of Curtain Call, after he impeded both Curtain Call and Tartan Bearer.
The Magnier/O'Brien gang combined for one of the uglier Irish Derby victories in history at the Curragh on Sunday as Frozen Fire claimed a two-length decision in the 1 1/2-mile classic after his stablemate Allesandro Volta had ended the chances of both Tartan Bearer and Curtain Call with an extraordinary display of brutishness in midstretch.