Derby result finally stands after objection by third-placed team

The result of last year's controversial German Derby was finally confirmed at an appeal hearing in Cologne on Monday, bringing to an end an eight-month saga that has frustrated German racing fans.

A dramatic conclusion to the Hamburg feature saw the Andreas Wohler-trained Isfahan deny Freddy Tylicki an emotional victory in his country of birth's Derby aboard Savoir Vivre by a head, with Dschingis Secret only a neck further away in third.

Both Tylicki and Dario Vargiu aboard the winner were adjudged to have breached Germany's whip rules in the finish, each striking their mounts nine times, with five being the limit. Stewards at Hamburg ordered both riders to surrender the majority of their winnings from the race as a result.

Despite there being no precedent for horses being thrown out of races where a jockey has breached the whip rules, connections of Dschingis Secret launched a series of objections to the winner and later the runner-up as well, arguing their horse should be awarded the race.

Monday's three-hour hearing means the result of the race run on July 10 stands, with the Direktorium, Germany's racing authority, announcing that the rules regarding whip abuse will be rewritten, so that it is absolutely clear that disqualification is not an option.