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Torquator Tasso (foaled 21 April 2017) is a German
Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...
racehorse. He was named German Horse of the Year for three consecutive years starting in 2020 when he won the Grosser Preis von Berlin and was placed in the Deutsches Derby,
Grosser Preis von Baden The Grosser Preis von Baden is a Group 1 flat horse race in Germany open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Baden-Baden over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), taking plac ...
and Grosser Preis von Bayern. In the following year he won the
Hansa-Preis The Hansa-Preis is a Conditions races, Group 2 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Germany open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Horner Rennbahn, Hamburg-Horn over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and ...
and the Grosser Preis von Baden before recording an upset victory in the
Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe () is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris over a distance ...
. A year later he came in third in the same race, cementing his status as one of the best German racehorses in recent history.


Background

Torquator Tasso is a "strapping" chestnut horse with a white blaze bred in Germany by Paul H Vandeberg. In October 2018 the yearling was put up for auction at the BBAG Mixed Sale and was bought for €24,000 by Gestut Auenquelle. The colt was sent into training at Mulheim with Marcel Weiss, who had taken over the stable in 2019 after working for several years as assistant to Jens Hischberger. He was from the seventh crop of foals sired by Adlerflug who won the Deutsches Derby in 2007. His other major winners have included In Swoop (second in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe), Iquitos (
Grosser Preis von Baden The Grosser Preis von Baden is a Group 1 flat horse race in Germany open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Baden-Baden over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), taking plac ...
) and Ito ( Grosser Preis von Bayern). Torquator Tasso's dam Tijuana showed no racing ability but as a descendant of the British broodmare Allegretta she was related to many major winners including
King's Best Kings Best (24 January 1997 – 16 April 2019) was an American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 2000 Guineas Stakes. He was described by his trainer Michael Stoute as the best miler he'd ever trained. Background King's Best ...
,
Urban Sea Urban Sea (18 February 1989 – 2 March 2009) was an American bred Thoroughbred racemare best known for winning France's most prestigious race, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, in 1993 and for her importance as a world-class broodmare. She is one ...
, Anabaa Blue,
Galileo Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642), commonly referred to as Galileo Galilei ( , , ) or mononymously as Galileo, was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a poly ...
and Sea The Stars.


Racing career


2020: three-year-old season

Torquator Tasso did not race as a juvenile and began his track career by finishing fourth in a minor race over 2000 metres at Mulheim Racecourse on 9 May. In the following month he started at odds of 1.8/1 for a race over 2200 metres at
Cologne-Weidenpesch Racecourse The Cologne-Weidenpesch Racecourse (''Galopprennbahn Köln-Weidenpesch'') is a horse racing track at Weidenpescher Park in Nippes, Cologne, Nippes, Cologne. As the only race course in Germany hosting more than one European pattern Group 1 races, ...
when he was ridden by Bauyrzhan Murzabayev and recorded his first success as he won by a
length Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
from Fataliste. The colt was then stepped up sharply in class to contest the
Group 1 Group 1 may refer to: * Alkali metal, a chemical element classification for Alkali metal * Group 1 (motorsport), a regulation set of the FIA for series-production touring cars used in motorsport. * Group One Thoroughbred horse races, the leading e ...
Deutsches Derby at
Horner Rennbahn Galopprennbahn Hamburg-Horn (''Hamburg-Horn Racecourse''), also known as Horner Rennbahn, is a major horse racing venue located in Horn, Hamburg, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe ...
in July when he started a 22/1 outsider but stayed on well in the closing stages to finish second to In Swoop, beaten three quarters of a length by the winner. In September Torquator Tasso was matched against older horses in the Group 1
Grosser Preis von Baden The Grosser Preis von Baden is a Group 1 flat horse race in Germany open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Baden-Baden over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), taking plac ...
and did best of the German runners as he came home third behind the British challengers Barney Roy and Communique. On 2 October started favourite for the Group 1 Grosser Preis von Berlin over 2400 metres on good to soft ground at Hoppegarten Racecourse (the race is usually run in August but was rescheduled owing to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
). Ridden by Lukas Delozier he recovered from a slow start to take the lead 200 metres from the finish and held off a late challenge from Dicaprio to win by a short head. On his final start of the year Torquator Tasso started favourite for the Grosser Preis von Bayern at Munich but was beaten a neck into second place by the
filly A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States ...
Sunny Queen. For his performances as a three-year-old Torquator Tasso was voted German Horse of the Year for 2020.


2021: four-year-old season

On his first appearance as a four-year-old Torquator Tasso finished sixth behind Kaspar in the Group 2 Grosser Preis der Badischen Wirtschaft at Mulheim in June. In the
Hansa-Preis The Hansa-Preis is a Conditions races, Group 2 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Germany open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Horner Rennbahn, Hamburg-Horn over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and ...
at Hamburg in July the colt was ridden by Rene Piechulek and won in "impressive" style, beating Sunny Queen by four and a half lengths after taking the lead 300 metres from the finish. In August Torquator Tasso started favourite as he attempted to repeat his 2020 success in the Grosser Preis von Berlin but was beaten into second place by the British filly Alpinista. In the Grosser Preis von Baden the colt started favourite against six opponents including Kaspar, Sisfahan (2021 Deutsches Derby) and the Glorious Stakes winner Passion And Glory. Ridden by Piechulek he raced in fourth place before taking the lead 200 metres out and stayed on well to win by a length from Sisfahan. After the race Weiss said "The Arc is the next target. Torquator Tasso passed the test with flying colors, even though the race was very stop-start. Rene Piechulek did a brilliant job." Four weeks after his win at Baden-Baden, Torquator Tasso (as Weiss predicted) was sent to France to contest the 100th edition of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe over 2400 metres on heavy ground at
Longchamp Racecourse The Longchamp Racecourse (, ) is a 57 hectare horse-racing facility located on the Route des Tribunes at the Bois de Boulogne in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, 16th arrondissement of Paris, France. It is used for flat racing and is noted for ...
when he was partnered by Piechulek and started a 72/1 outsider. Hurricane Lane started favourite while the other contenders included Adayar, Tarnawa,
Snowfall Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...
, Chrono Genesis, Broome and Sealiway. He raced in mid-division before making steady progress on the outside approaching the straight. He maintained his run, overhauled Hurricane Lane and Tarnawa in the last 50 metres and won by three quarters of a length. He became the third German-trained winner of the race after Star Appeal (1975) and Danedream (2011). Weiss explained "We started to plan for the Arc last winter. I thought this was the strongest Arc of the last few years but I still thought he deserved to go to the start. We would have been very happy if he had finished third, fourth, fifth, or sixth. We would have considered that a success. The fact he has won is a bonus."


Pedigree


References

{{Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe Winners 2017 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Germany Racehorses trained in Germany Thoroughbred family 9-h Arc winners