Danedream | |
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Danedream with Andrasch Starke winning the 2011 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe |
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Sire | Lomitas |
Grandsire | Niniski |
Dam | Danedrop |
Damsire | Danehill |
Sex | Filly |
Foaled | 2008 |
Country | Germany |
Colour | Bay |
Breeder | Gestut Brummerhof |
Owner | Gestut Burg Eberstein & Teruya Yoshida |
Trainer | Peter Schiergen |
Record | 13: 5-0-4[1] |
Earnings | EUR 2.870.310 (2. Oct 2011) |
Major wins | |
Oaks d'Italia (2011) Grosser Preis von Berlin (2011) Grosser Preis von Baden (2011) Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (2011) |
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Awards | |
European Champion Three-year-old Filly (2011) | |
Horse (Equus ferus caballus) |
Danedream is a German Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 2011 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in race record time.[2] She is one of only two German trained horses to win the Arc, the other being Star Appeal in 1975. In November 2011 she became the first German-trained horse to win a Cartier Racing Award.[3]
Danedream won only one of her first seven races before gaining her first important win in the Oaks d'Italia. In the second half of 2011, she showed dramatic improvement, winning the Grosser Preis von Berlin by five lengths and the Grosser Preis von Baden by six before easily beating an international field by five lengths in the Arc.
Contents |
Danedream was sired by the German Horse of the Year Lomitas out of the unraced Danehill mare Danedrop. Lomitas sired the winners of more than two hundred races, the most notable, before the arrival of Danedream, being the Arlington Million winner Silvano.[4] Danedrop was a grand-daughter of Lady Berry[5] who won the Prix Royal-Oak and produced several good winners including Vert Amande (Prix Ganay) and Indian Rose (Prix Vermeille).
Danedream was consigned by her breeders, Gestut Brummerhof as a two-year-old in June 2010 to Baden-Baden Spring Horses in Training Sale. She was sold for €9,000 with the buyer recorded as BBA Germany.[6]
Danedream made her first appearance in June 2010, when she won a minor race at Wissembourg by two and a half lengths.[7] She was moved up to Listed class a month later to finish third in the Oppenheim-Rennen at Köln. Sent to France for a race at Deauville she finished first, but was disqualified and placed third.[8] In October she returned to France for the Group One Criterium des Pouliches at Longchamp. She started a 33/1 outsider and finished sixth of the eight runners behind Misty For Me. Later in the same month she finished third in the Preis der Winterkonigin on her final start of the year.
On her three-year-old debut, Danedream was sent to Milan for the Listed Premio Seregno over 1600m. She looked outpaced in the straight before staying on to finish fourth. On her next start, Danedream was moved up in distance to 2300m and gave the first indication of her true ability when running third against colts in the Derby Italiano in Rome.
Three weeks later in Milan she recorded he first important victory in the Group Two Oaks d'Italia, taking the lead 400m from the finish and pulling away from her opponents to win by six and a half lengths.[9] Disappointment followed at Saint-Cloud a month later, when she finished only fifth to Testosterone in a blanket finish to the Prix de Malleret.
Danedream returned to Germany for her next start and produced by far her best performance to date in the Grosser Preis von Berlin. After being held up early in the race she was sent into the lead by Starke 300m out and drew clear to win by five lengths from the 2010 German Horse of the Year Scalo, with the 2009 German Horse of the Year Night Magic in fourth.[10] In September she confirmed her status as Germany's best racehorse by beating Night Magic by seven lengths in the Grosser Preis von Baden. The Canadian International winner Joshua Tree was a further six lengths back in third and the Deutsches Derby winner Waldpark finished last of the six runners.[11]
Despite two emphatic wins at Group One level she was not regarded as a major contender for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and started 20/1 outsider in the sixteen runner field. Starke settled the filly in the middle of the field before making his challenge in the straight. Danedream moved strongly through to take the lead from St Nicholas Abbey and Shareta 200m from the finish and was never in any danger of defeat, pulling away to win easily by five lengths from Shareta, with Snow Fairy third and New Zealand-bred champion So You Think fourth.[12] Her winning time of 2:24.49 broke the course record set in 1997 by Peintre Celebre.
On 27 November Danedream started 2.3/1 favourite for the Japan Cup at Tokyo Racecourse, despite being drawn wide in stall 13. She was held up towards the rear of the field as the American entry Mission Approved set a steady pace. At the turn into the straight, Starke switched his filly to the wide outside and Danedream began to make progress. She was never able to reach the leaders however, and finished sixth of the sixteen runners behind the five-year-old mare Buena Vista, beaten three and a half lengths.[13] Schiergen felt that the filly had taken too much out of herself in the early stages as a result of her wide draw position.[14]
It is intended that Danedream will stay in training as a four-year-old in 2012.