Frühjahrs-Meile

Group 3 race
Frühjahrs-Meile

Location	Düsseldorf Racecourse Düsseldorf, Germany
Inaugurated	1982
Race type	Flat / Thoroughbred
Sponsor	Volkswagen
Website	Düsseldorf
Race information
Distance	1,600 metres (1 mile)
Track	Turf, right-handed
Qualification	Four-years-old and up
Weight	57 kg Allowances 1½ kg for fillies and mares 1 kg if not won €12,000 * Penalties 3 kg for Group 1 winners * 2 kg for Group 2 winners * 1 kg for Group 3 winners * * since January 1 last year
Purse	€55,000 (2011) 1st: €32,000

The Frühjahrs-Meile is a Group 3 flat horse race in Germany which is open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Düsseldorf over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile), and it is scheduled to take place each year in April.

History

The event was established in 1982, and it was originally called the Ostermann-Pokal. It was initially contested over 1,200 metres at Gelsenkirchen, and it used to be open to horses aged three or older. During the early part of its history it was held in June, July or August. It was extended to 1,600 metres upon transferring to Cologne in 1988, and it was run under various sponsored titles after 1999.

The race was renamed the Grosse Hessen Meile when it moved to Frankfurt in 2007. It became the Frankfurter Meile in 2010, and at this point the minimum age was raised to four and it was rescheduled to be run in April.

The event was switched to Düsseldorf and registered as the Frühjahrs-Meile in 2011. Its sponsored title for that year was the Grosser Preis des Volkswagen Zentrum Nordrhein.

Records

Most successful horse (3 wins):

• Power Flame – 1997, 1998, 2000

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Leading jockey (2 wins):

• Neil Grant – Timely Threat (1993), A Magicman (1995)
• Kevin Woodburn – Power Flame (1997, 1998)
• Andreas Boschert – Banyumanik (2001), Pepperstorm (2004)

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Leading trainer (3 wins):

• Andreas Wöhler – Power Flame (1997, 1998, 2000)

Winners

Year	Winner	Age	Jockey	Trainer	Time
1982	Norman Style	4	Dave Richardson	Herbert Cohn	1:09.90
1983	Mister Rocks	5	Peter Alafi	Sven von Mitzlaff	1:11.60
1984	Red Rudy	4	Georg Bocskai	Heinz Jentzsch	1:10.40
1985	Gabitat	7	Paul Cook	Brian Gubby	1:10.50
1986	Tarib	3	Richard Hills	Harry Thomson Jones	1:10.10
1987	Roaring Riva	4	Michael Wigham	Willie Musson	1:13.90
1988	Just a Flutter	4	Bruce Raymond	Michael Jarvis	1:37.31
1989	Alkalde	4	Paul Eddery	Peter Lautner	1:38.10
1990	Maximilian	3	George Duffield	John Gosden	1:35.30
1991	Enharmonic	4	Willie Ryan	Lord Huntingdon	1:35.32
1992	Irish Stew	4	Andrzej Tylicki	Hans Blume	1:36.77
1993	Timely Threat	3	Neil Grant	Theo Grieper	1:38.83
1994	Ventiquattrofogli	4	Michael Roberts	John Dunlop	1:33.68
1995	A Magicman	3	Neil Grant	Hartmut Steguweit	1:33.70
1996	Orfijar	6	Billy Newnes	Peter Lautner	1:35.90
1997	Power Flame	4	Kevin Woodburn	Andreas Wöhler	1:36.16
1998	Power Flame	5	Kevin Woodburn	Andreas Wöhler	1:36.22
1999	Miss Tobacco	3	Pascal van de Keere	Ralf Suerland	1:32.05
2000	Power Flame	7	Andreas Suborics	Andreas Wöhler	1:41.22
2001	Banyumanik	5	Andreas Boschert	Mario Hofer	1:35.41
2002	Love Regardless	3	Keith Dalgleish	Mark Johnston	1:35.84
2003	Scapolo	5	Warren O'Connor	Christian von der Recke	1:38.74
2004	Pepperstorm	3	Andreas Boschert	Uwe Ostmann	1:34.20
2005	Proudance	3	Andreas Helfenbein	Ralf Suerland	1:44.53
2006	Lateral	3	William Mongil	Peter Schiergen	1:36.31
2007	Aspectus	4	Fredrik Johansson	Hans Blume	1:34.50
2008	Abbashiva	3	Norman Richter	Peter Rau	1:36.43
2009	Sehrezad	4	Jiri Palik	Andreas Löwe	1:39.02
2010	Enzio	4	Dominique Boeuf	Nicolas Millière	1:36.52
2011	Alianthus	6	Adrie de Vries	Jens Hirschberger	1:35.80

See also

• List of German flat horse races
• Recurring sporting events established in 1982 – this race is included under its original title, Ostermann-Pokal.

References

• Racing Post:
  • 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997
  • 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
  • 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011

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• galopp-sieger.de – Große Hessen-Meile (vormals Ostermann-Pokal).
• horseracingintfed.com – International Federation of Horseracing Authorities – Frühjahrs-Meile (2011).
• pedigreequery.com – Grosse Hessen Meile – Frankfurt.
• pedigreequery.com – Ostermann-Pokal – Köln.