Gorlsdorf Secures Two Year-End Awards

Niko Lafrentz and Heike Bischoff's Gorlsdorf Stud secured awards as the 2014 German champion breeder and owner thanks largely to the exploits of their homebred 3-year-old colt and German Horse of the Year candidate Sea The Moon (Ger) (Sea the Stars {Ire}), in a flower ceremony at Dortmund racetrack Dec. 28. Sea the Moon, a J “TDN Rising Star” J by virtue of a first out maiden victory at Cologne in September of 2013, won his next three starts all at the group level including the G1 IDEE 145th Deutsches Derby in July, the G2 Oppenheim-Union-Rennen and the G3 Fruhjahrs-Preis Des Bankhauses Metzler. Trained by Markus Klug–who was the German champion trainer in 2014–the bay suffered his first defeat when taking on elders in the Sept. 7 G1 Longines-Grosser Preis Von Baden, but was found to have suffered an injury. Made the early G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe favorite, Sea the Moon was retired to Lanwades Stud for a fee of £15,000 in 2015 when that injury flared up shortly before the Arc. 

During the flower ceremony Heike Bischoff praised the efforts of their Gorlsdorf star and said, “Instead of the flowers, we will send Sea The Moon an extra bag of his favorite carrots to Lanwades Stud.”