The Bénazet-Rennen is a Listed flat horse race in Germany open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Baden-Baden over a distance of 1,200 metres (about 6 furlongs), and it is scheduled to take place each year in May or June.
History The event is named after Edouard Bénazet (1801–1867), the founder of Baden-Baden's Iffezheim Racecourse. It was established in 1972, and was originally contested over 1,400 metres. It was cut to 1,200 metres in 1983.
During the early 1990s, the Bénazet-Rennen was classed at Listed level. It was promoted to Group 3 status in 1995.
The race was titled the Belmondo-Pokal in 2011. It returned to Listed level and became known as the Mercedes-Benz-Sprintpreis in 2012.
Records Most successful horse (3 wins): Lucky Strike – 2004, 2005, 2007
Leading jockey (3 wins): Andrzej Tylicki – Park Romeo (1981), Bismarck (1985), Home Please (1987) Terence Hellier – Auenadler (1999), Call Me Big (2002), Smooth Operator (2011) Adrie de Vries – Lucky Strike (2004, 2005, 2007)
Leading trainer (4 wins): Andreas Trybuhl – Lucky Strike (2004, 2005, 2007), Soave (2006)
Winners since 1990 Year Winner Age Jockey Trainer Time 1990 Roman Prose 5 Marc de Smyter Jonathan Pease 1:09.30 1991 Irish Shoal 3 Pierre Bouhey John Hammond 1:08.00 1992 Mister Slippers 3 Corey Black Robert Collet 1:12.20 1993 Dolphin Street 3 Cash Asmussen John Hammond 1:12.38 1994 Nasr Allah 4 Dragan Ilic Fredy Scheffer 1:11.94 1995 Wessam Prince 4 Walter Swinburn Carlos Laffon-Parias 1:12.07 1996 Passion for Life 3 Paul Eddery Geoff Lewis 1:09.02 1997 Monaassib 6 Daragh O'Donohoe Ed Dunlop 1:07.91 1998 Dyhim Diamond 4 Dominique Boeuf Carlos Laffon-Parias 1:09.01 1999 Auenadler 7 Terence Hellier Uwe Ostmann 1:10.43 2000 Skip 6 Torsten Mundry Urs Suter 1:12.19 2001 Gorse 6 John Reid Henry Candy 1:08.09 2002 Call Me Big 4 Terence Hellier Eckhart Gröschel 1:08.68 2003 Ingolf 5 Eduardo Pedroza Andreas Wöhler 1:09.99 2004 Lucky Strike 6 Adrie de Vries Andreas Trybuhl 1:07.94 2005 Lucky Strike 7 Adrie de Vries Andreas Trybuhl 1:07.56 2006 Soave 7 Olivier Peslier Andreas Trybuhl 1:09.26 2007 Lucky Strike 9 Adrie de Vries Andreas Trybuhl 1:11.35 2008 Abbadjinn 4 Torsten Mundry Peter Rau 1:10.03 2009 Contat 6 Rastislav Juracek Pavel Vovcenko 1:09.97 2010 Amico Fritz 4 Fabrice Veron Henri-Alex Pantall 1:09.50 2011 Smooth Operator 5 Terence Hellier Mario Hofer 1:07.72 2012 Smooth Operator 6 Stefanie Hofer Mario Hofer 1:07.95 The 2010 running took place at Hoppegarten.
Earlier winners 1972: Aga 1973: Garzer 1974: Garzer 1975: Widerhall 1976: Tarik 1977: Gourmet
1978: Noilly Prat 1979: Iron Ruler 1980: Nephrit 1981: Park Romeo 1982: Ratsherr 1983: Another Risk
1984: Mark 1985: Bismarck 1986: Elnawaagi 1987: Home Please 1988: Green's Picture 1989: Savahra Sound
See also List of German flat horse races
References Racing Post: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , galopp-sieger.de – Bénazet-Rennen. horseracingintfed.com – International Federation of Horseracing Authorities – Bénazet-Rennen (2011). pedigreequery.com – Bénazet-Rennen – Baden-Baden.