'All my ships are coming in, it happens every 25 years or so'

Kirsten Rausing has reflected on Sunday's Grosser Preis von Berlin victory of Alpinista, a win which has formed part of what will be the renowned owner-breeder's best ever season.

Lanwades Stud in Newmarket has been in Rausing's hands since 1980 and the performance of the Sir Mark Prescott-trained filly was especially pertinent as she is a grand-daughter of her three-time German Group 1 winner Albanova, the sister of her brilliant dual Champion Stakes heroine Alborada.

It arrived hot on the heels of the Albany and Duchess of Cambridge Stakes strikes by Sandrine, another to carry the white and green silks from a long-established family.

"I can barely believe it," said Rausing. "In numerical terms, it’s my best season so far. That’s 23 winners in my own colours to date, and that is the same as my best ever year, which was 2011, but obviously that was by the end of season.

"Out of the 23 wins we have eight black-type wins this year: a Group 1, two Group 2s, a Group 3 and four Listeds. It’s fantastic, all my ships are coming in, it happens every 25 years or so."

On Alpinista, bred out of Listed winner Alwilda and who has claimed the likes of the Upavon Fillies' Stakes and last month's Lancashire Oaks, Rausing said: "We always thought she was pretty good. She was a stakes winner at three and was second in the Yorkshire Oaks, only seven days after winning her stakes race at Salisbury. She’s possibly improved from three to four, but the ability was always there from her two-year-old days.

"I think she’s very typical of the family in that she is very brave. She sees off all comers and she takes battles, and battles with the colts, as she did in Germany. Her illustrious ancestress Albanova, her granddam, could do the same, and of course her own sister Alborada was particularly brave, only small, but very brave.

"Alpinista is longer - physically to look at she perhaps isn’t as beautiful as some of them, but I’m absolutely not in any way denigrating her!"

Alpinista and Luke Morris have graduated all the way to Group 1 levelCredit: Grossick Racing 07710461723

She continued: "This is the dam’s first foal. There is no three-year-old, but there is a two-year-old called Alpenblume, she is a Kendargent filly with Sir Mark Prescott.

"Sadly, the now yearling, a colt by Oasis Dream, met with an accident and is no more, and there is no foal, but the mare is in foal to Iffraaj. Of course, I have the mare and many of her family, about 20 [broodmares] I would say."

While Prescott has suggested a return to Germany could be on the cards for Alpinista, her owner-breeder is relaxed about plans.

"The main job is done now," Rausing told GBRI. "It’s a lot to ask of her to run in the Yorkshire Oaks again. The journey to Berlin is long, it’s two days in either direction, so I wouldn’t mind letting her have a break, but she will tell us what she wants to do, I’m sure.

"It’s far too soon to make a decision on her future. I suppose it rather depends how she ends this season. She is not an easy mare to mate externally, being by Frankel, but of course I have just the right horse for her at home, Study Of Man. However, we won’t decide about that until she’s run her last race."

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