BADEN-BADEN, Germany — Derby may have become a dirty word in some short-sighted jurisdictions but German breeding remains a bastion of the Classic dream. Indeed, this year's Deutsches Derby produced yet another fairytale outcome of the kind that can sustain smaller breeders through the tougher times.In July, fate sprinkled some its stardust upon Barbara Holubova, a Czech-born former jockey who is now a work rider for her compatriot Miroslav Rulec in Chantilly. She is also the owner of one broodmare who had already punched well above her weight via her offspring before delivering the ultimate dream for Holubova when her son, Dardanos, claimed German racing's biggest prize at Hamburg. The colt had been bought at the BBAG Yearling Sale of 2024 for just €10,000 but, as a son of the late German champion sire Soldier Hollow and a half-brother to the Listed winners Delgado (Best Solution) and De La Soul (Sea The Moon), he had a fighting chance of developing steadily into something decent. That he did with aplomb, winning the Deutsches Derby for Andreas Wohler and Stall Bergholz.For Holubova, who bred Dardanos with her former partner Jurgen Albrecht, the realisation of such a dream has now just about sunk in. “It took me a long time to understand that it really happened,” she said.His dam, the 16-year-old Mount Nelson mare Delegation, has an extra special place in the affections of the breeder, who bought her as a yearling in Deauville and knows her better than anyone.“I was attracted by her appearance, her white head and four white legs,” recalled Holubova, who rode Delegation every day for five years while she was in training with Albrecht. She clearly did a good job as the mare won four races in France and Germany, and she has been an even better broodmare, with her first five foals all having raced. Four of them are winners, three are black-type winners, and Dancing Dunes, the full-brother to this year's yearling, from the first crop of Torquator Tasso, has shown promise in two starts in Britain for Ralph Beckett having been bought at BBAG for €115,000 last year. Of Delegation's days as a racehorse, Holubova said, “She was a very strong, dominant, quirky mare. She had her own mind and didn't let many things get to her. It was a mutual cooperation between me and her – I will satisfy you and you satisfy me. She didn't like being interfered with even in the race, when the jockey pleased her, she always gave all she could.”She added, “She was not one of the top racehorses. She gave several excellent results in her class. She ran until she was seven years old and then we decided to try to cover her so that we could have a foal.”Delegation resides at Karl-Dieter Ellerbracke's Gestut Auenquelle, the home of Soldier Hollow until his death in May 2024, and now home to the great hope of the German stallion ranks in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Torquator Tasso, who hails from the same In The Wings sire-line through the late Adlerflug, and who carried the Auenquelle silks with distinction. We are only halfway through Torquator Tasso's first season with runners but the early signs are promising. From seven individual runners to date, he has been represented by three winners in Germany, Britain and France. Holubova continues, “Delegation has always been covered by excellent stallions, and even though the fathers of the foals were different, all her offspring have excellent results.”It would take something to top the Derby winner, however. “The feelings I experienced during the Derby and after the victory were incredible,” she agreed. “It was a huge joy, a moment that everyone who works with horses waits for and hopes for.”When there are youngsters on the ground, that hope endures, and Holubova is pleased with the progress of Delegation's yearling colt, who is bay with a blaze, like his mother and his illustrious half-brother, and who is set to sell on Friday as lot 148.He is consigned by Gestut Auenquelle in a draft which, unsurprisingly, is heavy with Torquator Tasso yearlings. There are nine altogether, and a further 13 sprinkled through the rest of the catalogue, while Auenquelle also has the poignant honour of offering the final yearling by Soldier Hollow to pass through the ring in Baden-Baden. Catalogued as lot 100, he is out of Govina (Doyen) and from the celebrated family of Farhh.Holubova said confidently of her own yearling, “He is another beautiful offspring. He has everything a racehorse should have. Torquator Tasso was an excellent racehorse, a descendant of the excellent Adlerflug who is unfortunately deceased.”He is not the only half-brother to a Derby winner in Friday's sale as lot 80, the only Frankel yearling at BBAG, can make that boast twice over. His breeder Gestut Rottgen advertises this year's consignment on the back cover of the catalogue with the strap-line 'A draft full of Derby potential' and that is certainly true of the Frankel colt out of Wellenspiel (Sternkonig). The mare hit the jackpot twice with her first two foals, the Deutsches Derby winners Windstoss (Shirocco) and Weltstar (Soldier Hollow), and she is no two-hit wonder either, as Wellenspiel has gone on to produce a pair of Group 3-winning fillies in Well Disposed (Dubawi) and Weltbeste (Soldier Hollow). Among those tipped to play a leading role once the sale gets underway from 10am in lot 166, Gestut Hof Itlingen's filly by Camelot, one of only two yearlings by the sire in the sale. The first foal of the treble Listed winner Stella (Neatico), she caught the eye during some foot-perfect shows on Thursday. There's little let-up at this stage of the yearling season, and the sales ground quickly filled up on Thursday morning as a plane-load of British and Irish visitors arrived fresh from the Tattersalls Somerville Sale. Among the international trainers in town are Andrew Balding, Ralph Beckett, Denis Coakley, Joseph O'Brien and BBAG first-timer William Haggas, whose stable notched a treble at Haydock on Thursday in his absence, including new TDN Rising Star Sharadd (Dark Angel).As ever, the team at BBAG provided a warm welcome to the visitors, including laying on its famous eve-of-sale barbecue, complete with a visit from Elvis.“There are many more international clients here than before – a great bunch of people from across Europe and also some US interests,” said BBAG managing director Klaus Eulenberger. “It is also good to welcome back those who have been before but are returning after a few years. We're very happy to see them. We have a nice bunch of horses. I think the price value at this sale is outstanding and the results speak for themselves.”The post Derby Dreaming at Germany’s Premier Yearling Sale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.