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The moon sets in the German gallop derby

ÜSurprise victory at the German Gallop Derby in Hamburg: In Swoop, the three-year-old stallion from the traditional Schlenderhan stud, stormed forward on the home stretch, left all favorites behind and was the first to fly past the goal post. And this was only the third time he started. Not only for the competition, but also for the weather in this country, it was difficult to estimate because he has been trained by Francis-Henri Graffard since the winter in Chantilly in France. His jockey is also French: Ronan Thomas.

However, the moon went down for the German jockey Andreak Starke: For Wonderful Moon, the top favorite of the 19 horse field, only the disappointing sixth place remained. It should have been the eighth derby victory for the strong – and the first for the promoted trainer Henk Grewe, who had four horses in the race for the € 650,000 prize money, but had to return to Cologne disappointed.

At the required safety distance

The saddest thing about this Corona version of a derby festival was the award ceremony. “Without the congestion of victory” – that is how Eugen-Andreas Wahler, the president of the Hamburg racing club, summed it up. In each case a small group opposite the empty grandstand, the faces mostly hidden behind masks, in the required safety distance. Every now and then a drifting hymn, rippling applause – that made some friends of racing swallow it. “It’s tough,” said Sibylle Vogt, the well-respected Amazon, the third derby rider in history and the first woman to compete twice in this classic.

“It’s completely different with an audience. It could pour out of buckets from me – the main thing is that the spectators are there. ”In the frame races, she too enjoyed the gloomy honor, but her derby horse Anatello had nothing to do with the outcome of the race.

Falling off horseback: winning jockey Ronan Thomas kneels at the award ceremony under

Andreak Starke, the 46-year-old professional, is likely to have suffered even more from the derby disappointment than from the conditions. He took it with the necessary sobriety. “During the race itself, you have neither an ear nor an eye for the audience, so you concentrate completely on the horse and yourself,” he said. “But you can tell after the races when the spectators are missing. Nevertheless, I believe that a football stadium without spectators is much more desolate. ”Wearing mouth and nose protection during the race is tough for those who are strong, especially in the heat. Hamburg was not plagued by this.

A maximum of 1,000 people, among whom fever was measured at the entrance, were allowed to enter the racetrack, which normally buzzes and hums – last year, 25,000 spectators came on Derby Day. Hamburg is famous for its “roar”, the swelling background noise when the field gallops down the track for the first time in front of the grandstand – this time you could even distinguish individual calls, you could hear the muffled hoof drum on the floor, which had softened up from the rain the previous day.

Hardcore weather in the hotel next door

Hardcore weather rented in the hotel next to the main grandstand and watched the races from the window – sometimes dressed correctly, sometimes not. The rest had to follow the action on live stream or on television and place their bets on the Internet.

The live experience on the racetrack is incomparable. The noble thoroughbreds with their fine faces and their tough, muscular bodies, which sometimes seem to fly almost over the course. The moment when the yellow flag goes up, the flaps of the starting machine open and the horses explode at full speed in their first gallop jump. “As if they were shot down by a catapult,” race rider Sibylle Vogt describes this moment. “The first time it’s exhilarating,” she enthuses.

Instead of a festive derby week, this year there was only a three-day program of 36 races with a whopping 421 horses. Well, they hoped at the racing club, all they had to do was bet properly.

And indeed: Around 870,000 euros were already converted after two days – it was clear that the target of 1.27 million would be exceeded. “You see me very relaxed,” said Ilona Vollmers, treasurer of the racing club. In these tough times, the organizers benefit even more from bets because the bookmakers, in solidarity, waive part of their commissions. Thanks to the late entries from Kellahan and Soul Train, which brought in an additional 130,000 euros, there was even a small video wall in it. The Hamburg finance woman did not miss the joy of the balanced balance sheet: “If it is as sad as it is, it is really good.”

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