Bay Of Brilliance targets Deutsches Derby after ownership change

Bay Of Brilliance will line up in Sunday’s 157th Deutsches Derby at Hamburg-Horn in new colours, and the race is already carrying more weight than a normal Classic stop. The Ralph Beckett-trained colt goes there off a fourth-place finish in the Betfred Derby at Epsom, with Australian owner Aziz “Ozzie” Kheir now in the picture and looking at a result that could reshape the rest of the season.

That is the real reason Hamburg matters. The Deutsches Derby is run over 2,400 metres for 3-year-old colts and fillies and offers €650,000 in prize money, but for Bay Of Brilliance it is also a market test for international value. Kheir and his partners want a Group 1 placing or win that would open the door to stronger Australian options later in the year, which makes this much more than a sentimental European detour.

Bay Of Brilliance has already shown enough to justify the gamble. The son of New Bay out of Incroyable (USA), foaled on 28 April 2023, won twice as a juvenile, then went down by a neck in the William Hill Lingfield Derby Trial on 9 May 2026 before taking his shot at Epsom. On 6 June 2026, he finished fourth in the Betfred Derby on soft ground, a performance that came in the most expensive version of the race, with the winner’s purse set at £1,000,000.

The practical details for Hamburg are straightforward. Bay Of Brilliance is declared with Hector Crouch aboard and Racing Post has him in stall six, a draw that should give Crouch options early in a maximum field of 20. The one question hanging over the colt is the weather: he is viewed as better on sound ground, so forecast rain could decide whether he stays on the German path or gets rerouted after the race.

There is already another clue that this is part of a wider Kheir plan rather than a one-off buy-in. James J Braddock, another of his European runners, won Leopardstown’s Derby Trial in May, showing the Australian camp is actively working the European ladder. Timeform listed no future entries beyond Epsom for Bay Of Brilliance at the time of its update, which only sharpens the focus on Hamburg as the next decisive run.

The timing also fits the setting. Hamburg’s Derby meeting covers 44 races across four days and total prize money of €1,499,000, the kind of stage where a colt can turn one strong Epsom run into a summer campaign with genuine international stakes.