Dylan Mouth, Nightflower Set for GP von Baden

Dylan Mouth will most likely start as the favorite in the $270,271 Grosser Preis von Baden (Ger-I) Sept. 4 at Baden-Baden, but he will be up against a pair of capable fillies in Serienholde and Nightflower among a competitive field of 11 for Germany's top race.

The Grosser Preis Von Baden is run at 2,400 meters (about 1 1/2 miles) for 3-year-olds and older and offers the winner an automatic starting berth in the $4 million Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (gr. IT) Nov. 5 at Santa Anita Park as well as an invitation to the Japan Cup (Jpn-I), to run Nov. 27 at Tokyo.

A 5-year-old son of Dylan Thomas from the Newmarket yard of Marco Botti, Dylan Mouth is a multiple Italian group I winner but has yet to show his best against international competition. Although he captured the Gran Premio di Milano (Ity-I) for the second straight year in May, he finished 10th when venturing to France for the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud (Fr-I) July 3. 

"The race in France last month didn't suit him, there was no pace and he ran a little too keen," Botti said of Dylan Mouth, who has won 12 of 16 career starts, including the Gran Premio del Jockey Club (Ity-I) in 2014 as well as the Premio Roma (Ity-I) last year.

Two other trips outside of Italy, both at Ascot, in 2014 and '15 were also disappointments, but Botti said Dylan Mouth will run a big race at Baden-Baden.

"I am hopeful that he will go close, however there looks to be a few unexposed types in the race and we would ideally like to see more cut in the ground before the race," he said. "So we will all be doing a rain dance in the next few days.

"He is a tough, seasoned campaigner that has been all over Europe and loves his racing, I am sure he will run a big race (in the Gross Preis von Baden)."  

Nightflower will try to improve on her runner-up finish to Prince Gibraltar in last year Preis von Baden after which he won the Preis von Europa (G1), also against males at Cologne. Sent to the Japan Cup last November, she found traffic trouble before finishing 11th. This year, the 4-year-old daughter of Dylan Thomas, trained by Peter Schiergen, has gone winless in her three starts, but was a creditable second behind Wohler's former Melbourne Cup (Aus-I) winner Protectionist Grosser Preis von Berlin (Ger-I) Aug. 14.

Protectionist was a late scratch from Sunday race, but Wohler will sent out Serienholde, who has won all three starts this year, topped by her last-out triumph in the Henkel Preis Prix Diana (Ger-I, German Oaks) Aug. 7 at Dusseldorf. The victory marked the first in a group race for the daughter of Soldier Hollow.

Others entered include Boscaccio, who was most recently runner-up in the German Derby (Ger-I) July 10 after claiming the Oppenheim-Union-Rennen in June, and Dschingis Secret, who was third in both of those events.

Eight-year-old veteran Meandre, a former group I winner in Germany and France, returns to top-level competition for the first time in more than two years.

Sunday's card also features the $75,662 T. von Zastrow Stutenpreis (Ger-II), which offers an automatic berth in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf (gr. IT). Among the contenders are the Schiergen's Sarandia, who ran a hard-fought second to Serienholde in the German Oaks, and Joseph Allen's Apple Betty, who finished third in the Prix Psyche (Fr. III) July 30 at Deauville for red-hot trainer Jean-Claude Rouget.