British-trained Lycidas bids for Group 3 success
Preview: Germany, Sunday 3.30pm BST
Krefeld: Dr. Busch-Memorial (Group 3) 1m½f, turf, 3yo
The Dr. Busch-Memorial is by far the most important early classic trial in Germany and Sunday's field looks very strong.
It includes a British runner, Lycidas (Toby Coles/Stevie Donohoe), whose 27-year-old trainer, one of the youngest in Newmarket, also owns the colt in partnership with his German breeders Count and Countess Stauffenberg.
Lycidas's pedigree is good enough as he is a half-brother to Group 1 winner Lady Marian but he will need to show improved form as he ended 2011 by winning a Wolverhampton maiden and he is up against some of Germany's top three-year-olds here.
Top-rated is Pakal (Wolfgang Figge/ Olivier Peslier), runner-up to French Fifteen in the Criterium International at Saint-Cloud, who is having his first race for new connections.
But on earlier German form he has little in hand of Auenturm (Uwe Ostmann/ Freddie Tylicki), Amaron (Andreas Löwe/ Davy Bonilla) and the latter's stable companion Worlds
Flash (Fabien Lefevre).
Local hope Pastorius (Mario Hofer/ Terry Hellier) was an easy winner of the Ratibor-Rennen over this course and distance while Girolamo (Peter Schiergen/ Andrasch Starke) and Kolonel (Andreas Wöhler/ Eduardo Pedroza) both won their only juvenile starts in impressive fashion and represent two of the most powerful yards in the country.
Local bookmakers RaceBets go 5-1 each of five and whoever wins will almost certainly start favourite for the Mehl-Mülhens-Rennen (2,000 Guineas) at Cologne on May 28th.
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