Old Persian third in Germany

Old Persian took third place in the G1 Grosser Preis von Berlin over a mile and a half at Hoppegarten, Germany, on Sunday, 11 August.

Partnered by William Buick, the four-year-old colt raced in second before dropping back to third with just under a mile to race.

The Charlie Appleby-trained son of Dubawi was asked for more with two furlongs to race and ran on to mount a challenge entering the final furlong. He almost got up to take second inside the final furlong, staying on well to finish a length and a short head behind French King and Communique. The ground was described as good and the winning time was 2m 35.16s.

Charlie Appleby commented: “A bit more pace in the race would definitely have helped Old Persian today.

“He has run steadily and travelled well into the race but just got found out for a bit of toe at the finish.

“However, it was his first run for a couple of months and it was a nice performance. We could come back to Germany with him next month and he is a nice horse going into the autumn.”