May 1st is a traditional date at the racecourse in Munich-Riem with the first major highlight of the season: the WETTSTAR.de Bavarian Classic is the first important preliminary test on the way to the German Derby and always a real indicator for the most important gallop race in Germany. In the past three years, the Derby winners Fantastic Moon and Sammarco were placed in the Classic.
Among the six candidates competing on Thursday in the Group III race for three-year-old horses over 2,000 m with prize money of 55,000 euros are the two current Derby favorites Aquaman and Zuckerhut. Aquaman, trained by Henk Grewe, will represent the Liberty Racing colors of Fantastic Moon. The colt impressed at his debut in Cologne at the end of March, winning safely against strong competition and thus positioning himself as one of the favorites for the Derby. Zuckerhut, who was named for the race, is prepared by Peter Schiergen and won his debut on the racecourse with similar ease as the favorite from Henk Grewe’s stable and is also one of the hot candidates for the Derby. Schiergen is also saddling Path of Soldier, who will be making his annual debut in Munich. Waldemar Hickst also has two candidates at the start with Abando and Lazio. Marcel Weiß will run Oriental Star, who will be ridden by Munich-based top jockey Rene Piechulek.
Seven races on “Labor Day”
The “Labor Day” in Riem comprises seven races. The first start, the MIG Fonds opening race over 2,000m for three-year-old horses, is at 14:05. The two starters from Stall Salzburg, trained locally by Sarah Steinberg, Ayres and Di Maggio, as well as Eagle Emblem, prepared by Hickst, are likely to attract a lot of attention here.
The V4 betting, which is popular in Munich, begins with the second race of the day, a level IV over 2,200m, and ends with the fifth race, the top handicap of the day. The level II over 2,200m is endowed with 15,000 euros. Seven horses will be running. With the four-year-old Avola (Peter Schiergen) and the three-year-old Aglaia (Waldemar Hickst), Stall Nizza has both the highest and the lowest weight in the race.
V4 bet and four-race bet with 10,000 euros each The Münchener Rennverein guarantees 10,000 euros for the V4 bet, which involves picking the winners of four races. The same amount is guaranteed among the winners of the four-horse bet in the Preis der Fünf Höfe (3rd race / start 15:15). Ten horses will run in the level IV race over 1,600m. As always, it’s not just the bettors who get their money’s worth, but especially the younger visitors: bouncy castle, carousel and pony rides are an integral part of the race days in Riem.
