The Bénazet-Rennen is a Listed flat horse race in Germany open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Baden-Baden over a distance of 1,200 metres (about 6 furlongs), and it is scheduled to take place each year in May or June.

Bénazet-Rennen
Mercedes-Benz-Sprintpreis
Listed race
LocationIffezheim Racecourse
Baden-Baden, Germany
Inaugurated1972
Race typeFlat / Thoroughbred
SponsorMercedes-Benz
WebsiteBaden-Baden
Race information
Distance1,200 metres (6f)
SurfaceTurf
TrackLeft-handed
QualificationThree-years-old and up
Weight55 kg (3yo); 59 kg (4yo+)
Allowances
1½ kg for fillies and mares
2 kg if not won €7,000 *
1 kg if not won €10,000 *
* since June 1 last year
Penalties
2 kg for Group winners **
1 kg for Listed winners **
** since January 1 last year
Purse€20,000 (2012)
1st: €12,000

History

edit

The event is named after Edouard Bénazet (1801–1867), the founder of Baden-Baden's Iffezheim Racecourse. It was established in 1972, and was originally contested over 1,400 metres. It was cut to 1,200 metres in 1983.

During the early 1990s, the Bénazet-Rennen was classed at Listed level. It was promoted to Group 3 status in 1995.

The race was titled the Belmondo-Pokal in 2011. It returned to Listed level and became known as the Mercedes-Benz-Sprintpreis in 2012.

Records

edit

Most successful horse (3 wins):

  • Lucky Strike – 2004, 2005, 2007

Leading jockey (3 wins):

  • Andrzej Tylicki – Park Romeo (1981), Bismarck (1985), Home Please (1987)
  • Terence Hellier – Auenadler (1999), Call Me Big (2002), Smooth Operator (2011)
  • Adrie de Vries – Lucky Strike (2004, 2005, 2007)

Leading trainer (4 wins):

  • Andreas Trybuhl – Lucky Strike (2004, 2005, 2007), Soave (2006)

Winners since 1990

edit
Year Winner Age Jockey Trainer Time
1990 Roman Prose 5 Marc de Smyter Jonathan Pease 1:09.30
1991 Irish Shoal 3 Pierre Bouhey John Hammond 1:08.00
1992 Mister Slippers 3 Corey Black Robert Collet 1:12.20
1993 Dolphin Street 3 Cash Asmussen John Hammond 1:12.38
1994 Nasr Allah 4 Dragan Ilic Fredy Scheffer 1:11.94
1995 Wessam Prince 4 Walter Swinburn Carlos Laffon-Parias 1:12.07
1996 Passion for Life 3 Paul Eddery Geoff Lewis 1:09.02
1997 Monaassib 6 Daragh O'Donohoe Ed Dunlop 1:07.91
1998 Dyhim Diamond 4 Dominique Boeuf Carlos Laffon-Parias 1:09.01
1999 Auenadler 7 Terence Hellier Uwe Ostmann 1:10.43
2000 Skip 6 Torsten Mundry Urs Suter 1:12.19
2001 Gorse 6 John Reid Henry Candy 1:08.09
2002 Call Me Big 4 Terence Hellier Eckhart Gröschel 1:08.68
2003 Ingolf 5 Eduardo Pedroza Andreas Wöhler 1:09.99
2004 Lucky Strike 6 Adrie de Vries Andreas Trybuhl 1:07.94
2005 Lucky Strike 7 Adrie de Vries Andreas Trybuhl 1:07.56
2006 Soave 7 Olivier Peslier Andreas Trybuhl 1:09.26
2007 Lucky Strike 9 Adrie de Vries Andreas Trybuhl 1:11.35
2008 Abbadjinn 4 Torsten Mundry Peter Rau 1:10.03
2009 Contat 6 Rastislav Juracek Pavel Vovcenko 1:09.97
2010 Amico Fritz [a] 4 Fabrice Veron Henri-Alex Pantall 1:09.50
2011 Smooth Operator 5 Terence Hellier Mario Hofer 1:07.72
2012 Smooth Operator 6 Stefanie Hofer Mario Hofer 1:07.95

a The 2010 running took place at Hoppegarten.

Earlier winners

edit
  • 1972: Aga
  • 1973: Garzer
  • 1974: Garzer
  • 1975: Widerhall
  • 1976: Tarik
  • 1977: Gourmet
  • 1978: Noilly Prat
  • 1979: Iron Ruler
  • 1980: Nephrit
  • 1981: Park Romeo
  • 1982: Ratsherr
  • 1983: Another Risk
  • 1984: Mark
  • 1985: Bismarck
  • 1986: Elnawaagi
  • 1987: Home Please
  • 1988: Green's Picture
  • 1989: Savahra Sound

See also

edit

References

edit