German Derby winner Wiener Walzer strikes
Report: Germany, Sunday
Cologne: Rheinland-Pokal (Group 1) 1m4f, 3yo+
GERMAN Derby winner Wiener Walzer (Jens Hirschberger/Fredrik Johansson) held back the older generation at Cologne on Sunday when he scored by inches over stable companion Getaway in the Group 1 Rheinland-Pokal.
The duo, who are trained by Jens Hirschberger, started joint- favourites at 18-10.
Getaway put his head in front inside the final two furlongs but Wiener Walzer held his place on the rail. The Deutsches Derby winner would not give in and Fredrik Johansson drove him home to score by a short head.
Godolphin's Eastern Anthem finished third after being held up last of the seven runners as far as the straight. He was taken out into the middle to launch his effort and stayed on to deprive the lightly raced Schiller Danon of third in the final half-furlong.
Godolphin representative Diana Cooper said: "He ran a great race and was beaten by two good horses. He was running on wellat the finish."
Jockey Ahmed Ajtebi thought that Eastern Anthem might have benefited from a slightly longer trip.
Wiener Walzer, a son of Dynaformer, has now won four of his five career starts.
The first two are likely to meet again in Germany's most prestigious race, the Grosser Preis von Baden, on September 6.
"We will see how they recover from this race before deciding," said Hirschberger. "Getaway would have been a little better suited by softer ground and he is the one who is definitely being trained for the Arc."
Johansson said: "I thought I was beaten but he has a really big heart and fought back gamely."
There is no doubt which of the two had the harder race on this occasion, however.
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