DANEDREAM went from little known German raider to stunning Longchamp hero with a wonderful five-length success in yesterday’s Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp.
With the likes of Sarafina and So You Think left trailing in her wake Peter Shiergen’s three-year-old more than vindicated owners Gestut Burg Eberstein paying 100,000 euros to supplement her for yesterday’s European middle distance championship. That was more than 10 times her original sales price. But under German jockey Andrasch Starke, she beat fellow females Shareta and Snow Fairy by five lengths and a neck respectively to become the first horse trained in Germany to land the Arc in 36 years.
‘Deutschland uber alles’ rang out for the first time since Star Appeal won under Greville Starkey in 1975 – Starke, though, was the first German jockey to win the Longchamp Group One.
Danedream had won the Italian Oaks, the Grosser Preis Von Berlin and Grosser Preis Von Baden by wide margins, but was sent off an unfancied 20-1 and 27-1 on the Pari-Mutuel.
But she made those odds looks ridiculous with Aidan O’Brien’s So You Think doing best of her more fancied rivals in fifth, with 4-1 favourite Sarafina seventh and last year’s Arc hero Workforce a disappointing 12th respectively.
Danedream’s winning time of two minutes 24.49 was the fastest ever in the Arc.
The three-year-old is owned the Baden-Baden-based Volz family, whose fortune comes from the furniture business, but they recently sold a half-share to Japanese breeder Teruya Yoshida.
Heiko Volz, son of Helmut, said: “My father has had horses for 35 years, but we’ve had nothing like this.
“We bought her at the breeze-up sale in Germany for 9,000 euros, and we just thought she would be a fun horse who could maybe win a race.
“She had her first run at Wissembourg, a small course, just because we thought it would be an easy race to win. She has just improved and improved, and now we’re here!
“After she won at Baden-Baden, my father and I didn’t speak to each other but we were both thinking the same thing – about supplementing her for the Arc.
“It’s the one everyone in the racing world wants to win, and for me it’s the number one race. I had two dreams, to win the Grosser Preis von Baden, and this race.”
It looks like Danedream will stay in training next year and Volz added: “She will stay in training next year with Peter, nothing will change. She has run seven times already this year, so I don’t think she needs to run again. But it’s the trainer who decides.”
Schiergen, who is a former German champion jockey and is a top trainer in his homeland, said: “She is a small filly with a big, big heart and there’s no better race to win. I have trained some Group winners, but she is the greatest filly I have ever trained.
“She won her last two races very easily, but I didn’t think she would be such an easy winner. This is a really big day for German racing.”
Starke added: “It was a dream for me just to ride today in this race.
“I knew the filly could put up a great performance but there was a lot of competition in the race and good horses.
“In the last two furlongs she just gave me a great feeling and I was just dreaming. I don’t know what has happened. It’s a dream come true.”
Ed Dunlop was thrilled with Snow Fairy’s third-place finish under Frankie Dettori.
He said: “I’m very proud to be third in an Arc, it was a great run and she was the leading older horse in the race. It was probably the race of her life.
“We ran with a view to coming from off the pace and I was delighted with her effort.
“That was only her fourth run, so hopefully she’ll go back to Japan for the race she won last year or maybe even the Japan Cup or Hong Kong. She stays in training next year.”
TODAY’S NAP: The Mighty Mod (3.40pm Pontefract).
