Arc hero Tasso back to winning ways

Last year’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe victor Torquator Tasso returned to winning form in the Grosser Hansa-Preis at Hamburg on Saturday.

The five-year-old was a shock winner of the ParisLongchamp showpiece last autumn, defeating Tarnawa by three-quarters of a length for trainer Marcel Weiss and jockey Rene Piechulek.

He was well-beaten on his return at Baden-Baden in May, but bounced back to his best over 12 furlongs in Hamburg, showing a smart change of gear to win by three and a half lengths from Northern Ruler.

Piechulek told www.galopponline.de: “I already had a much better feeling today before the race. You can tell that straight away when he’s in a good mood. We agreed with the trainer that we would completely forget about running in Baden and start afresh today.”

Torquator Tasso holds an entry in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot later this month and Paddy Power chopped his price to 6-1 from 20s for the Group One heat, although Weiss has yet to discuss plans with connections.

He said: “The start of the year wasn’t really good, but that’s his biorhythm and you have to accept it. I’m very satisfied with today’s run and it everything is going according to plan.

“How we proceed now, we will discuss with the owners in the coming days.”