Prince Gibraltar Last to First at Baden-Baden
Description:
After relaxing in last place for much of the race, Prince Gibraltar streaked to the lead inside the final furlong to win the Grosser Preis von Baden (Ger-I) Sept. 6 at Baden-Baden.
The son of Rock of Gibraltar, third as the favorite in last year's French Derby (Fr-I), wore down front-runner Nightflower and snatched command in the final 100 yards, then went 1 3/4 lengths clear for the victory under Fabrice Veron.
Close German Oaks (Ger-II) runner-up Nightflower had no more to give after tracking pacesetter Weltmacht and taking charge a quarter mile out, but she held on for second. German group I winner Sirius, near the back of field early, was up to take third, a half-length back in the seven-horse field.
German group winner and local favorite Ito was scratched.
The 4-year-old Prince Gibraltar, trained by Jean-Claude Rouget, finished 1 1/2 miles in 2:31.48 on good turf, winning for the first time in four starts this year after placing in group company in his two previous starts. He was second in the Grand Prix de Chantilly (Fr-II) May 31 and third in the Sky Bet York Stakes (Eng-II) July 25.
Prince Gibraltar added a second top-level win to his record following his 2-year-old triumph in the 2013 Criterium de Saint-Cloud (Fr-I) by five lengths on heavy ground. His third to The Grey Gatsby in the French Derby was bookended by a win in the 2014 Prix Greffulhe (Fr-II) and a neck second to Gallante in the Juddmonte Grade Prix de Paris (Fr-I).
With Sunday's victory, Prince of Gibraltar qualified for the Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (gr. I) Oct. 31 at Keeneland and the Japan Cup (Jpn-I) Nov. 29 at Tokyo.
The colt improved his overall record 4-2-4 from 12 career starts for owner and breeder Jean-Francois Gribomont. His dam is the winning Pennekemp mare Princess Sofia.