By Sean Cronin
Holger Renz's accidental purchase Tunnes (Ger) (Guiliani {Ire}–Tijuana {Ger), by Toylsome {GB}), a half-brother to G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe hero Torquator Tasso (Ger) (Adlerflug {Ger}) who was acquired as the result of an online oversight, brought the curtain down on his juvenile campaign with a win in Krefeld's Nov. 14 G3 Herzog von Ratibor-Rennen. Having passed on his G1 Deutsches Derby engagement this term, he made a successful comeback in a Baden-Baden conditions heat at the end of last month and continued his winning streak with a wide-margin domination of Sunday's G3 Racebets 138th Deutsches St Leger at Dortmund, providing his owner with a second straight renewal of the 14-furlong Classic. The 13-10 favourite fought for his head through the initial stages and was allowed to stride on in front after passing the judge first time. Maintaining control in testing conditions thereafter and lobbing along for the most part, he had all rivals under pressure off the home turn and romped further clear under urging once shaken up approaching the quarter-mile marker to rout 37-1 outsider Sir Filip (Ger) (Ito {Ger}) by eight lengths, himself 3 1/2 lengths ahead of the winner's stablemate Nerium (Ire) (Camelot {GB}).
“I didn't really want to make all over such a long trip, but I did not want to take the risk of him pulling hard either, so it worked out well,” said winning jockey Bauyrzhan Murzabayev after claiming his first Deutsches St Leger. Trainer Peter Schiergen added, “The way he won was really quite impressive and he is a true and excellent stayer. We will now run in the Group 1 event at Munich [Nov. 6 G1 Grosser Preis von Bayern] and maybe once before that at ParisLongchamp on the [Oct. 16 G2 Prix du Conseil de Paris] weekend following the Arc meeting.”
Tunnes, one of two pattern-race winners for his sire, is the fourth of seven foals and one of two winners out of a half-sister to four stakes performers headed by G2 Diana-Trial victrix Tusked Wings (Ire) (Adlerflug {Ger}), G2 Prix Maurice de Nieuil third Titurel (Ger) (Dr Fong) and last year's G3 St Leger Italiano runner-up Tangut (Ger) (Adlerflug {Ger}). The April-foaled chestnut, full to a weanling filly, is a half to the aforementioned Torquator Tasso (Ger) (Adlerflug {Ger}), the hitherto unraced 2-year-old filly Tiara Hilleshage (Ger) (Adlerflug {Ger}) and a yearling colt by Adlerflug (Ger). His third dam, Listed Prix Occitanie runner-up Turbaine (Trempolino), produced Guiliani's sire Tertullian (Miswaki) which gives Tunnes a 3×3 inbreeding to Turbaine, herself a half-sister to G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe-winning blue hen Urban Sea (Miswaki).
Sunday, Dortmund, Germany
RACEBETS – 138TH DEUTSCHES ST LEGER-G3, €70,000, Dortmund, 9-18, 3yo/up, 14fT, 3:06.21, sf/hy.
1–TUNNES (GER), 125, c, 3, by Guiliani (Ire)
1st Dam: Tijuana (Ger), by Toylsome (GB)
2nd Dam: Tucana (Ger), by Acatenango (Ger)
3rd Dam: Turbaine, by Trempolino
(€38,000 Ylg '20 BBAGS). O-Holger Renz; B-Paul H Vandeberg (GER); T-Peter Schiergen; J-Bauyrzhan Murzabayev. €40,000. Lifetime Record: 5-4-1-0, €98,570. *1/2 to Torquator Tasso (Ger) (Adlerflug {Ger}), MG1SW-Ger, G1SW-Fr & G1SP-Eng, $4,177,645. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Sir Filip (Ger), 125, c, 3, Ito (Ger)–South Carolina (Ger), by Kallisto (Ger). 1ST BLACK TYPE; 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. (€12,000 RNA Ylg '20 BBAGS). O-Stall Dominique; B-Claudia Barsig (GER); T-Jean-Pierre Carvalho. €15,500.
3–Nerium (Ire), 132, h, 5, Camelot (GB)–Nicolaia (Ger), by Alkalde (Ger). O-Stall Nizza; B-Ursula & Jurgen Imm (IRE); T-Peter Schiergen. €8,000.
Margins: 8, 3 1/2, 1 1/4. Odds: 1.30, 36.90, 5.00.
Also Ran: Hipop De Loire (Fr), Normfliegerin (Ger), Ability (Ger), Earlofthecotswolds (Fr), Diamantis (Ger), Nacido (Ger), Sir Polski (Ger), Quebueno (Ire).
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