Lars-Wilhelm Baumgarten

Trainer Andre Fabre has confirmed that Sosie (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) is set to continue his racing career in 2025 following his fourth-place finish in the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp, with the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot being identified as a likely destination next summer. The three-year-old Sosie was beaten around four lengths behind Bluestocking (GB) (Camelot {GB}) on Sunday as he attempted to complete a big-race hat-trick following victories in the G1 Grand Prix de Paris and G2 Prix...

Palladium (Ger) (Gleneagles {Ire}) could continue to follow in the footsteps of Fantastic Moon (Ger) (Sea The Moon {Ger}) after keeping the G1 Deutsches Derby trophy in the hands of owners Liberty Racing with his victory at Hamburg on Sunday. Trained by Henk Grewe and ridden by German-born jockey Thore Hammer-Hansen, Palladium ran out a surprise winner of the Classic as he edged ahead in the final strides to get the verdict by a neck, having raced away from the other principals after being brought over to the stand's side...

The unforgettably named Thore Hammer-Hansen bade farewell to British racing at the end of last season to take up a retainer with leading German owner Eckhard Sauren. On Sunday he will go to post for the G1 Deutsches Derby as the leading rider in the country.  In many respects it was a homecoming for the young jockey, who was born in Cologne and spent some of his formative years in Baden-Baden, where his Danish-born father Lennart was riding and later training. It can also be regarded as a wise move. ...

Fantastic Moon (Ger) has emulated his sire Sea The Moon (Ger) not just by winning the G1 Deutsches Derby but now also in being crowned German Horse of Year for 2023. The colt, owned by Liberty Racing, won the oldest public vote in the history of German sport, which took place on his fourth birthday, March 21. "We are very proud of this title. Fantastic Moon absolutely deserves it," said Lars-Wilhelm Baumgarten, the co-founder of the colt's ownership syndicate Liberty Racing. "His magnificent victory in the 2023 German Derby and his...

The undefeated G1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe favourite Ace Impact (Ire) (Cracksman {GB}) is pleasing trainer Jean-Claude Rouget ahead of the big day on Sunday. He is one of 16 on the radar for the ParisLongchamp showpiece after Sprewell (Ire) (Churchill {Ire})'s defection at the latest forfeit stage on Tuesday. A colourbearer for Gousserie Racing and Ecuries Serge Stempniak, the five-for-five G1 Prix du Jockey Club hero ran out a three-quarter length winner of the G2 Prix Guillaume d'Ornano when last seen in August. "Why shouldn't I be...

Despite having run out the convincing winner of the G2 Prix Niel, one of Sunday's key Arc trials at Longchamp, the Deutsches Derby winner Fantastic Moon (Ger) (Sea The Moon {Ger}) will not run in this year's G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Instead he has potential trips to America and Japan on his agenda, according to Lars-Wilhelm Baumgarten, who manages the colt's ownership syndicate Liberty Racing.  "We have decided not to sell him. We've had big offers from all over the world but we have decided to run him....

IFFEZHEIM, Germany--Baden-Baden, so good they named it twice. Okay, so the BBAG sales complex and its neighbouring grand racecourse may be in the small nearby village of Iffezheim but it is Baden-Baden that lends its name to the current stop on the European yearling sales tour, now that Donville is in the rear-view mirror. The caravan rolls on, and it is always wise to stay on for a few days in Baden-Baden if time allows as, whether you're a pedigree purist or you simply enjoy a good day out at...

Last week this column was led by Hukum (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}). Now, for the same owner/breeder, Shadwell, it is the turn of Al Husn (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}). It was quite the boost for Newcastle's all-weather G3 Hoppings Fillies' S. that both the winner Al Husn and runner-up Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}) went on to win a Group 1 on the turf on their next start. With Nashwa having won the G1 Falmouth S. in emphatic fashion, she reopposed Al Husn in attempting to defend her crown in the...

An ambitious concept to counter the ongoing disruption caused to Germany's racing finances by the COVID-19 lockdown, initiated by entrepreneur and racehorse owner Lars-Wilhelm Baumgarten along with Guido Schmitt and Christian Sundermann, has succeeded in its objective. The idea is based on popular television entertainment show "Wetten, dass..?", which subjected contestants to viewer-determined forfeits if unable to complete bizarre tasks. In one case, a blindfolded farmer successfully recognized his cows by the sound they made while chewing apples. However, in this sporting scenario, the trio declared they'd find 100 people...