Klassischer Renntag auf der Galopprennbahn Köln-Weidenpesch

In the organizer's words:

Coolmore City of Troy German 2000 Guineas, size 2

Cologne classic with international flair

British record-breaking rider Hollie Doyle comes to Cologne and is the attraction at the classic race day in Weidenpesch.

The most important gallop races in a country are the classics. On Sunday, the Coolmore City of Troy German 2,000 Guineas, the first German classic race of the season, will take place in Cologne. The 125,000 euro Group 2 race for three-year-olds over 1,600 meters will be a highly interesting competition in which classic hopefuls from England, France and Germany will compete against each other.

The reigning champion trainer Peter Schiergen, who is successful at the Asterblüte stables at home, is represented twice with Gestüt Ebbesloh's Dhitjari and Michael Motschmann's Square Carnot. The former already shone last year in the Cologne Auction Race and finished second in the Baden Future Race. Windfang, from the Hanoverian stable of trainer Bohumil Nededorostek, will compete with David Liska, two-time jockey champion in the Czech Republic. Mehmas Champion, who could play a good role for owner Jaber Abdullah and trainer Andreas Wöhler, represents internationally renowned racing colors. With his second place in the Krefeld Dr. Busch Memorial, the Englishman Eternal Elixier is no longer a stranger in Germany. The fact that Hollie Doyle, the most successful English rider of all time, is riding the co-favorite trained by Archie Watson in Lambourn is of course a special touch to the Cologne classic. Ciaran, who finished second at Listed level last year, could travel from France. The three-year-old, trained by Maurizio Guarnieri, recently put himself back on the map with a win after a long break.

Due to a strong partnership between Great Britain and Germany, the winner of the Cologne classic will also receive a nomination for the St. James's Palace Stakes (Group 1, 1,600m, 650,000 pounds prize money) during the Royal Ascot meeting on June 17. "Connecting Ascot and Cologne over the Coolmore City of Troy German 2,000 Guineas bridge is also a great honor for us," says Phlipp Hein, Managing Director of the Cologne Racing Association.

Family program

An entertaining family program awaits visitors to Weidenpescher Park on Sunday. There will be pony rides, a bouncy castle, soccer darts and, of course, the popular mascot Galoppi, who will be available for photos and autographs. In addition, the little guests can have creative fun with face painting.

Watch 1. FC Köln LIVE against Kaiserslautern

We have a location for FC fans in the "Tribüne 2" area, where we will be broadcasting the match on TV from 3:30 pm. Our main race starts towards the end of half-time at around 16:30.