Ten years after his hat-trick inspired a 5-1 win for England in Munich, Michael Owen returns to Germany today feeling all the old excitement, just differently directed. Brown Panther, an impressive winner at Royal Ascot, will start favourite for the German Derby in Hamburg tomorrow and the country is preparing a celebrity welcome for the horse and his owner.
“You wait all your life for moments like this,” Owen said yesterday. “Ascot was so emotional, because we bred the horse too. But he only won a handicap and it’s a big step into a group one classic. Just because I scored a hat-trick there, it didn’t make me the best player in the world. Likewise, we mustn’t get carried away by the horse yet.”
Brown Panther, trained by Tom Dascombe at Owen’s stables in Cheshire, is among the favourites for the Ladbrokes St Leger and will not be exposed to an arduous road journey to Hamburg. “We wanted to give him the best possible chance, so we’re going to the expense of flying him over,” Owen said.
As usual, all the best Sunday action is overseas and the Prix Jean Prat at Chantilly offers Strong Suit a shot at elite level. A wind operation restored him to his best juvenile form for victory in the Jersey Stakes and Richard Hughes retains the ride in a race that has also attracted Zoffany and Fury.