Who will be Horse of the Year 2025?
- Luis Kimmel
- Mar 14
- 10 min read
The winter is over, and the first raceday on turf in Germany is just around the corner. But first, the most important decision of the year lies ahead: Who will be named Horse of the Year 2025?
Three exceptional horses are in the official running of Germanys racing jurisdiction Deutscher Galopp. For the 69th time, Germany’s best racehorse is set to be honoured. GOSTAM (Saxon Warrior), HOCHKÖNIG (Polish Vulcano) and SANTAGADA (Soldier Hollow) are in the running.
Gostam could become only the third two-year-old to be named German Horse of the Year, following RUBAIYAT (Areion) in 2019 and ESCLAVO (Viceregal) in 1978.
Derby winner Hochkönig is the favourite, I think it’s fair to say. Even though he hasn’t raced since his victory at Hamburg, his win in the Derby was arguably the most emotional moment of the 2025 racing year.
Without a moment’s rest, Gestüt Park Wiedingen’s Santagada has been racing on tracks across Germany. The Soldier Hollow daughter has secured no fewer than four Group victories. The last filly or mare to be crowned Horse of the Year was Stall Nizza’s NIGHTFLOWER (Dylan Thomas) exactly ten years ago.
Down below you can find a link to vote on the website of Deutscher Galopp.
GOSTAM
SAXON WARRIOR x GOIANIA (Oasis Dream)
Owner: Darius Racing and Michael Motschmann
Breeder: Stiftung Gestüt Fährhof
Trainer: Andreas Wöhler
2025 Earnings: 126.000€
OR: 112
Gostam already boasts an impressive OR of 112. The Saxon Warrior son was not only by far the best two-year-old in Germany in 2025, he was perhaps the finest young horse since 2019, when Rubaiyat was voted Horse of the Year and ALSON (Areion) won a Group 1 race in France.
Gostam made his debut on Dallmayr Prize Day at Munich and won straight away against strong opposition. The runner-up, SEGURO (Romanised), and the fourth-placed horse, DEIA’S DELIGHT (Wootton Bassett), both finished fourth in Group 3 races later in the season and currently have a OR of 94.
Gostam’s next outing took him to Baden-Baden for the G3 152. Zukunfts-Rennen. “Superior. Two lengths,” noted the judge at the finish line. A form that was also recognised on the international stage.
The runner-up, COMMANDER’S INTENT (Victor Ludorum), subsequently placed in a Group 3 race at Newmarket, whilst the winner of that race, Godolphins DISTANT STORM (Night Of Thunder), later placed in the G1 Dewhurst Stakes and currently has a OR of 115.
Which of Gostam’s performances has been the strongest so far is open to debate. Visually, his performance in Germany’s most important two-year-old race stands out. For a brief moment in the G3 Preis des Winterfavoriten, it looked as though the colt trained by Andreas Wöhler might lose his unbeaten record there for the first time, as LOMMI (Churchill) closed in dangerously. But at the 300-metre mark, Gostam showed his true class. Within a few strides, he pulled decisively clear and ultimately won by five lengths. No horse had managed the rare double of the Zukunfts-Rennen and Winterfavorit for 49 years.
The runner-up, Lommi, went on to win the G3 Herzog von Ratibor-Rennen at Krefeld.
"He was dominant in every race, and this dominance was repeatedly confirmed later on"
For Darius Racing’s racing manager Holger Faust, Gostam is a thoroughly deserving candidate. “He deserves the title, not just because of the races he has won, but above all because of the way he has won them. He was dominant in every race, and this dominance was repeatedly confirmed later on,” Faust tells me. “After Baden-Baden, Commander’s Intent finished second in a Group race at Newmarket, whilst Lommi won the Ratibor-Rennen with complete authority following the Winterfavorit. This shows that Gostam didn’t just pick up the scraps, but beat the best two-year-olds we had in Germany.”
What does the future hold for Gostam? “He’s come through the winter well, but it’s only March. He hasn’t been on grass once yet, so we’re still right at the start,” explains Faust. The main target at the moment is the French Derby, the G1 Prix du Jockey Club in June. “He’s set to start the year in the G2 Bavarian Classic. After that, we’ll take a close look at his form and decide on a race-by-race basis. If he doesn’t go to France, the target is of course the G1 German Derby.”
Like father, like son
Last year, SEA THE MOON (Sea The Stars) produced his second Horse of the Year in his son ASSISTENT. To date, a total of 16 stallions have produced more than one German Horse of the Year. Some horses have won the title on multiple occasions. Most recently, TORQUATOR TASSO won Germany’s oldest public sport vote three times for his sire ADLERFLUG (In The Wings). However, the most successful sire remains SURUMU (Literat). The 1977 German Derby winner sired the Horse of the Year six times. Three of his sons won the award: MONDRIAN in 1989 and 1990, and PLATINI in 1992. ACATENANGO even achieved the hat-trick from 1985 to 1987.
Unlike Surumu, who was never voted Horse of the Year, Sea The Moon won the title in 2014.
Looking ahead to this year, POLISH VOLCANO (Lomitas) and SAXON WARRIOR (Deep Impact) could each produce their first champion via Hochkönig and Gostam respectively. Santagada, meanwhile, would be the second winner for the four-time and reigning German champion sire SOLDIER HOLLOW (In The Wings). Dschingis Secret won the title in 2017, Soldier Hollow in 2004.
As mentioned at the outset, Gostam could become the third two-year-old Horse of the Year. Like his two predecessors, Esclavo and Rubaiyat, 47 and six years earlier respectively, he too won the Winterfavorit at Cologne. Darius Racing was the sole owner of Rubaiyat. With Gostam, the president of the Munich Racing Club, Michael Motschmann, is on board. Or in the saddle. Depending on how you look at it.
HOCHKÖNIG
POLISH VULCANO x HALINARA (Kallisto)
Owner: Stall Cloverleaf
Breeder: Stall MarcRuehl.com
Trainer: Yasmin Almenräder
2025 Earnings: 415.750€
OR: 114
Hochkönig’s Derby victory is one of the finest stories in German horse racing in recent years. We all agree on that. For many spectators, and for me too, his triumph in the G1 156th German Derby came out of the blue. At Hamburg, however, the colt was not fazed and prevailed against the best of his crop on the biggest stage.
Prior to that, Hochkönig had competed four times as a three-year-old. Four times he travelled to Cologne, where he finished third at his first start of the season at massive odds of 30.9:1. It was only at his fourth career start that he managed to break his maiden. This time as the red-hot 1.3:1 favourite. His victory was as dominant as the odds suggested. In his last outing before Hamburg, he was beaten only by ZUCKERHUT (Almanzor) in the G2 190th Union-Rennen. In the Derby, Zuckerhut then finished sixth as Hochkönig claimed victory.
For Hochkönig himself, Hamburg marked the final outing of the season. The colt, trained by Yasmin Almenräder, had to withdraw from his planned starts in the Group 1 races at Baden-Baden and Cologne due to injury.
Behind him, the British guest CONVERGENT (Fastnet Rock) took second place in the Derby. A horse that had already arrived from England in good form and went on to impressively confirm his Derby form as the season progressed. The Fascinating Rock son later won two Group races in Ireland and France, ensuring that the team behind Hochkönig can continue to dream.
"The target is the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe"
For his trainer, there is no doubt that Hochkönig is a worthy contender for the Horse of the Year award. “He is the Derby winner and has always performed to his best even before the Derby,” Almenräder tells me. “He is a completely uncomplicated horse who can show his speed in any race, regardless of whether the pace is slow or fast, or whether he is leading or chasing. He is simply a proper racehorse, just as you would wish for.”
The colt also impresses in day-to-day handling. “He’s completely uncomplicated and at the same time a real star in the stable,” the trainer continues. She does not see last year’s injury as a long-term problem: “It wasn’t his fault that he got injured. But he’s in great form and we’re convinced that he’ll show his true potential again this year.”
Plans for the new season have already been outlined, and they may well lead to one of the biggest goals in international racing. “We can say it now without sounding arrogant: the target is the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe,” explains Almenräder. “If everything goes well and the horse stays healthy, that’s where we want to be.”
The start of the season is therefore set to be deliberately cautious. “We won’t be racing as early as March, of course. We’re aiming for the G2 Sauren Dachfonds Preis as our first start. After that, Baden-Baden and possibly Berlin could follow, before we head back to Baden-Baden. But ultimately, the horse itself will decide which path we take.”
Of Derby winners and fillies
Last year, the Derby winner wasn’t even in the running for Horse of the Year. This year, things are clearly different. Hochkönig could follow in the footsteps of FANTASTIC MOON (Sea The Moon), who was named Horse of the Year two years ago as the reigning Derby winner.
One might think that the Derby winner should feature frequently in the list of winners. The reality is quite different. Before Fantastic Moon in 2023, his sire Sea The Moon was the last Derby winner to claim the honorary title in 2014. In this millennium, the only other horse to do so is SAMUM (Monsun), who won both the Derby and the Horse of the Year award in 2000. SHIROCCO (Monsun) did win the Derby in 2004, but was beaten by Soldier Hollow in the Horse of the Year vote. A year later, Shirocco went on to win the title, even though he was no longer being trained in Germany.
The Derby nevertheless plays an interesting role. Six of the last eight Horse of the Year winners have at least run in the Derby, even if not always in the year in which they were voted Horse of the Year. Even more interestingly, all the winners finished in the top four of the Derby. However, some Horse of the Year winners in this millennium were not particularly successful in the Derby. SCALO and PRINCE FLORI (both by Lando) both finished only ninth in the 2010 and 2006 Derbies respectively. Naturally, neither was crowned for their Derby performances. Two months after the Derby, Prince Flori won the G1 134th Grosser Preis von Baden as a 27.4:1 outsider for Sascha Smrczek. In the G1 Preis von Europa, Scalo relegated the Horse of the Year winners NIGHT MAGIC (Sholokhov) and QUIJANO (Acatenango) to second and third place.
To date, a filly or mare has won the Horse of the Year award seven times. DANEDREAM (Lomitas) claimed the title twice, in 2011 and 2012. However, Danedream was unable to win the G1 German Oaks, as she did not even compete at Düsseldorf. Things were different in 2009 with Night Magic. She won the Diana (German Oaks) and was voted Horse of the Year. Other female champions to have won the award include LAS VEGAS (Luciano), who in 1984 also won the Oaks, the G1 Aral-Pokal and the G2 100th German St Leger. In 1957, the Horse of the Year award was presented for the first time, and THILA (Magnat), the reigning Oaks winner, immediately claimed the newly introduced honorary title. Forty years later, the 1997 Derby winner BORGIA (Acatenango) was voted Horse of the Year.
Should she win, Santagada would therefore become the seventh filly or mare to win the awar. One fact, however, would make her a very special winner. Since the introduction of the Pattern system in 1973, no filly or mare has ever been voted Horse of the Year without having won a Group 1 race.
SANTAGADA
SOLDIER HOLLOW x SALVE VENEZIA (Areion)
Owner: Gestüt Park Wiedingen
Breeder: Gestüt Höny-Hof/Irland
Trainer: Peter Schiergen
2025 Earnings: 158.000€
OR: 110
The mare, bred by Gestüt Höny-Hof, embodies many of the qualities for which German Thoroughbreds are internationally renowned and admired: tenacity, fighting spirit and a strong will to perform.
Santagada competed seven times in 2025, always at Group level and over a wide variety of distances, ranging from 1,600 metres to 2,400 metres. On four occasions, the Park Wiedingen-owned filly emerged victorious from Group 3 races.
Her season got off to a flying start. In the G3 Karin Baronin von Ullmann – Schwarzgold Stakes, she prevailed as a 11.1:1 outsider against the future classic winners NICORENI (Brametot) and LADY ILZE (Territories). Shortly afterwards, she showed great fighting spirit in the G3 Japan Racing Association Trophy – Hamburger Stuten-Meile, successfully holding her own against a representative from the mighty Godolphin stable.
Santagada ended the season in style with two further Group victories. First, she won the G3 35th Preis der Deutschen Einheit at Hoppegarten, before confidently living up to her clear 1.7:1 favourite status in the G3 Herbst-Stutenpreis at Hanover.
"She had a very, very unlucky race in the Oaks. It’s hard to imagine what might have been possible had she been able to run unhindered there"
Despite all her successes, owner Helmut von Finck looks back on his exceptional fillies season with mixed feelings.
“Santagada was in exceptional form throughout 2025. All year round, she ran superb races, even against colts and foreign horses,” von Finck tells me.
The Soldier Hollow daughter failed to place just three times in 2025. Ironically, these were the three most important races she competed in. Above all, her owner considered her performance in the G1 167th Preis der Diana – German Oaks to be very unfortunate. She finished sixth. In the G2 105th German 1000 Guineas and the G2 T. von Zastrow Stutenpreis, Santagada finished fourth in each race.
Regardless of this, the filly performed at the very highest level throughout the season. For her owner, one thing is certain: “There is no filly or mare with such a big heart!”
This makes the decision to keep Santagada in training as a four-year-old all the more welcome news for German racing. The Park Wiedinger-owned filly has come through the winter at the stud in excellent condition and is set to set her sights on major goals once again in 2026. An entry for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe is firmly on the cards.
Germany’s oldest public sport vote runs until 22 March. You can cast your vote via the link below.
Finally, there’s one question I’m particularly interested in:
which of the three is your favourite? Did any of their performances particularly impress you, or do you have a clear favourite?
Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments and join the discussion!
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