A female jockey has made racing history by becoming the first woman to ride the winner of one of Europe’s major Derbys.
Nina Baltromei was the reigning champion amateur rider of Germany and was having her first mount in the £561,000 German Derby in Hamburg on Sunday.
She was riding regular mount Hochkönig, trained by Yasmin Almenräder, who was sent off at odds of 183-10 in the 1m4f Group 1 race on the back of a last time out second place in a Group 2 contest in Cologne.
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Baltromei had to ride a patient race from a position in rear and towards the inside of the 17 runner field. Her mount still had plenty of ground to make up with a furlong and a half to run but Hochkönig finished strongly to catch British runner Convergent in the final stride.
The photo-finish print confirmed Hochkönig had edged the verdict by a short head from the Karl Burke-trained runner-up.
Baltromei, whose later father Walter was a successful trainer, achieved the landmark success 46 years after the first woman rode in the race. She was dowsed in champagne by fellow jockeys afterwards.
“This is breathtaking, I don’t know what to say,” said the jockey who turned professional last month. “I hadn’t realised I’d won. It’s absolutely amazing to be able to experience it like this.