Derby bound! Great third place for KAIROS in 191st Union-Rennen (Gr.2)

Every year, it’s the eagerly anticipated event that sets the stage for the German Derby. We’re talking about the Union-Rennen in Cologne, the classic that also serves as the most important preliminary race for the highlight of the year, and whose 191st edition took place today. Among the contenders was KAIROS, who races for Liberty Racing 2024 Platin and most recently finished fourth in the Listed-level Premio Emanuele Filiberto in Milan—a solid, yet not outstanding, performance.

Today was different. The Henk Grewe-trained Zarak colt delivered an excellent performance under Leon Wolff. In the €70,000 Gr. 2 race, KAIROS was in the leading group right from the start and entered the final stretch from this excellent position. In a thrilling finish, the French-bred colt fought his way to a strong third-place finish. After 2,200 metres, he crossed the finish line three-quarters of a length behind Westminster Rocket, who had won the Listed race in Milan, suggesting that an extra 200 metres would have done him good. With this great performance, the team behind KAIROS heads to Hamburg with high hopes, where the cards will be reshuffled in three weeks.