For those involved in the racing, howev-
er, there's plenty of honour at stake, not
to mention decent purses for each sev-
en-race meeting, with the Grosser Preis von
St Moritz on the final Sunday being worth
CHF111,000 ($112,500/£83,500).
The flat racing regularly draws competi-
tors from England, Germany and France,
with Christian Von der Recke being an an-
nual visitor to St Moritz. The German train-
er doesn't just stick to the flat and, as well
as preparing jumpers, often trains his thor-
oughbreds in the art of skijoring, in which
a horse effectively tows a 'driver' on skis.
One such convert is the former Andrew
Balding-trained Investec Derby Trial winner
Dreamspeed (Ire) (Barathea {Ire}), the pride
of St Moritz resident and international rac-
ing owner Barbara Keller.
"You can tell quite quickly whether or not
horses will take to racing here," says Von
der Recke, who oversaw the second phase
