Mark Prescott's star mare has now won three Group One races in Germany; Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is now the plan in 2022 after a prolific 2021 campaign; Luke Morris rode her to victory in Munich
Sunday 7 November 2021 16:11, UK
Alpinista took her Group One tally to three in the Grosser Preis Von Bayern in Munich - and kept next year's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe firmly on her agenda.
Sir Mark Prescott and Kirsten Rausing's filly extended her unbeaten 2021 campaign to five races with a typically tenacious three-quarter-length victory from Mendocino, with her old rival Nerium back in third.
Luke Morris made sure the 4-5 favourite was soon up close to the pace set by Nerium, before laying down her challenge into the straight. She then had a battle on her hands, as she had in her two previous Group One successes in Germany this year, but again she proved well up to the task.
Prescott, watching at home from his Newmarket yard, was delighted with Alpinista's performance - and her prolific season.
He said: "It went well. It's been a little plan that came off for once! It's been marvellous. She's not missed a beat - she just had a cloudy scope and couldn't run in one [race] in England, and we had to miss that.
"But other than that, she's won five out of five."
Prescott admits her ability to fare so well on overseas trips has surprised him as much as her sustained improvement on the track - although this time, he was indebted to fellow Newmarket trainer Roger Varian for providing a travelling companion in Believe In Love, who went on to finish a near five-length fifth for her trouble.
"She's great, she takes it very well," Prescott added, of his stable star. "She still has to have a companion to travel - and you wouldn't have thought, when she was young, she would travel as well as she does.
"When we've been on our own, I've had to send my old hack over with her.
"This time, fortunately, Mr Varian wanted to come over - so we had a share without having to send the old hack over."
The trainer had reason to be pleased with himself too, for completing the keyboard skills which allowed him to watch Alpinista from afar - in the absence of his usual technical support, principally his assistant William Butler.
"It tested all my skills!" he said. "William's there, and he normally manages these things, and the secretary's off. So everybody came to the rescue, and I had just two buttons to press to watch it - and it all went well."
