The grand season finale at the Munich-Riem racecourse on Saturday lived up to its name. “We saw many great winners this year, but Bay City Roller was the cherry on top,” said Sascha Multerer, managing director of the Munich Racing Club, about the dominant winner of the Grosser Allianz Preis von Bayern.

The 2,400m race has a prize purse of €155,000 – €100,000 of which goes to the winning team. It is one of seven Group 1 races in Germany: “This means horse racing at the highest level, and the English guest has demonstrated that,” said Multerer.

The colt, trained by George Scott in Newmarket and owned by Bahraini Sheikh Nasser, whose stable is called Victorius Racing, could hardly have performed more impressively. In the home straight, Bay City Roller surged away from the field, ultimately winning convincingly by seven lengths ahead of another English visitor: the five-year-old filly Tiffany, who finished second, as she had the previous year. The German-trained Rashford and Lazio finished in the following places, while the favorite, Convergent from England, finished second to last in the eight-horse field.

De Vries instead of Dubai, Riem again

The winning jockey was Adrie de Vries: “The trainer had a lot of confidence in the horse, so I postponed my trip to Dubai once again.” The 56-year-old Dutchman, who has been among the best jockeys in Germany for over 25 years, has been spending his winters in the United Arab Emirates for several years and frequently rides there for Victorious Racing. “I think it was my tenth Group 1 win for Sheikh Nasser.”

The second sporting highlight of the day was the BBAG Auction Race-Hans-Gerd-Wernicke Memorial Race, with a purse of €52,000. The 1,600m race for two-year-old horses was won by Waldemar, ahead of Allez La Grise and Elmo. Waldemar belongs to Cologne native Holger Renz but is trained in Düsseldorf by Sascha Smrczek. “I wasn’t expecting a win, but the race turned out well for us,” said winning jockey Alexander Pietsch.

The only home victory in a total of nine races was secured by the five-year-old Mr. Jury Twister, trained by Jutta Mayer in Riem. He won a €15,000 handicap IV over 2,000m and, with odds of 20.7:1, caused the biggest upset of the day.

Two wins for champion trainer Peter Schiergen

The most important handicap of the day, in which the horses have to carry different weights depending on their form, went to Cologne – to the reigning champion trainer Peter Schiegen. With the five-year-old Alpenjäger from the Nizza stable, he won the €25,000 handicap I over 2,400m, the Allianz General Agency Andreas Wittmann Prize. In the saddle was the Schiegen stable’s apprentice, Esentur Turganaaly Uulu.

Schiergen and his riding apprentice also secured the final winner of the year in Riem. The three-year-old mare Northern Eclipse, owned by Kurt Fekonja, easily prevailed against a dozen competitors in the 2,200m handicap race. The next race day in Munich is scheduled for April 19, 2026.

Economic results of the race day are pleasing – problems with the starting machine

The race day surrounding the Grosser Allianz Preis von Bayern was also a financial success. The Hong Kong Jockey Club’s World Pool generated approximately €15 million in revenue for races 5 through 9. The Munich Racing Club reported a turnover of €1,175,000 for the day, with international betting alone exceeding €800,000.

The only frustrating aspect for both the participants and the racing club on an otherwise excellent race day was the recurring problem with the starting gate, which caused false starts in the third and fifth races, resulting in two horses not starting. Sascha Multerer expressed his regret at the end of the day. “We had the starting gate completely inspected and serviced again four weeks ago by the manufacturer, Fornells. That we experienced such difficulties on this top-class day is not up to Munich standards, and we will rectify the situation for next year. We can only apologize to the affected stables and ask for their understanding.”