THE Berlin racetrack Hoppegarten stages its top meeting of the year this weekend, with tomorrow’s Group 1 Grosser Preis von Berlin the main feature.

Three German-trained runners have been declared and also three foreign raiders, and it seems highly likely that the bulk of the prize money will go abroad. Godolphin won the race last year with Best Solution and this time have supplemented Old Persian, winner of the lucrative Sheema Classic in March. He has only run once since, and badly at that, when well beaten in the Coronation Cup at Epsom, but he was clearly not right that day, and if back to his Meydan best, looks the one to beat.

Mark Johnston saddles Communiqué, who actually finished in front of Old Persian at Epsom and has won two Newmarket Group 2s this year, while Henri-Alex Pantall sends the much-improved French King on the long journey from south west France. French King is unbeaten in three starts this year, including two German Group 2s, but will possibly need further improvement to beat the Brits.

At Hamburg he was barely extended to beat Andreas Wöhler’s Royal Youmzain by two and a half lengths, and that one, who finished a close third here last year, still looks the most likely of the locals to make the frame.

Alounak finished last in that Hamburg race; he has since run well in the Munich Group 1, but is unlikely to get the soft ground he needs to show his best form. The final runner is the locally-trained Andoro, eighth last time in the Deutsches Derby.

Irish view

The meeting also features three listed races, all with international fields, and from the Irish point of view today’s stayers’ race is the most interesting, as it sees the seasonal debut of seven-year-old gelding Torcedor, who was trained last year by Jessica Harrington and was one of the best stayers in Europe, finishing a close third in the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot and then runner-up to Stradivarius at Goodwood.

After that race he was sold to Australian Bloodstock and transferred to Andreas Wöhler, but his only start in Germany was a disaster when he finished last on very heavy ground in the Preis von Europa last September and was found to be suffering from an infection, which scuppered plans to run him in the Melbourne Cup. This year’s edition of the race is now the plan, and today’s race is the first step towards that.