Blitzburg lives up to his name in Canonbury Stakes

The evergreen Snitzel’s (Redoute’s Choice) golden season continued when two-year-old colt Blitzburg lived up to his name with a sizzling all-the-way win in the Canonbury Stakes (Gr 3, 1100m) at Rosehill on Saturday.
There’s only one stallion in the Australian general sires’ top 30 more senior than Snitzel, that being the year-older – and retired – Fastnet Rock (Danehill).
But despite his 22 years, Arrowfield’s four-time champion sire continues to thrive, including on the two-year-old scene.
Blitzburg’s victory gave Snitzel his tenth Australian stakes winner of the season. He leads all the nation’s sires by that score, two clear of second-placed Zoustar (Northern Meteor) on eight.
Sitting fifth among general sires by earnings before Saturday, Snitzel also ranks second by winners among two-year-old sires, with five to Spirit Of Boom’s (Sequalo) eight.
In addition, Snitzel sits first by winners with five – three more than his nearest rival – among two-year-old sires in New Zealand, where his juvenile son Return To Conquer won a second stakes race from as many starts on Saturday in Ellerslie’s Colin Jillings 2YO Classic (Gr 3, 1200m).
But while Blitzburg scored an emphatic win under Tyler Schiller in Saturday’s early autumn juvenile highlight, he appears unlikely to have the chance to become Snitzel’s third Golden Slipper (Gr 1, 1200m) winner, and his second in three years, after Shinzo.
Instead Gerald Ryan, who co-trains with Sterling Alexiou, is leaning towards Canberra’s Black Opal Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) on March 9 as the key target for Blitzburg, whose full-brother will be offered by Arrowfield as Lot 161 at April’s Inglis Easter sale.
“He’s not a [Golden] Slipper horse. I think he is a rung below,” said Ryan. “But it is the Golden Slipper, he is only two once, so we will see how he ends up.
“The Black Opal might be his go. We will just pick our races with him and if he is flying at Slipper time we might go there.”
A $500,000 Magic Millions Gold Coast buy for TFI and his trainers last year, Blitzburg was wound in only slightly to $34 in the Slipper betting after his win, which gave him two from four following a Newcastle debut success.
The Arrowfield-bred colt was smartly away from gate two of seven, was largely allowed to do as he pleased in front, had no real challengers at the top of the straight and put the race to bed in kicking for a three-length lead at the 250 metres, before easing up late.
Sent out a slightly easy $4.80 chance, he had 1.2 lengths to spare on the line from the Annabel Neasham and Rob Archibald-trained Hillier (Zoustar), a $21 chance who also has TFI Colts and Kia Ora heading his ownership. That colt’s stablemate, Peleus (Pariah), took third at $15.
Schiller said Blitzburg – who failed to gain a run as an emergency in last month’s Magic Millions 2YO Classic (RL, 1200m) on the Gold Coast – had relished being left alone in front on Saturday.
“He jumped sharp today, he got to dictate,” the winning rider said. “I think that was the main thing. He doesn’t really like horses getting past him and I thought he was very aggressive. When he got challenged he attacked the line awesome.”
Ryan revealed he had subsequently treated Blitzburg for a minor cough after the 2YO Classic was postponed, meaning the colt couldn’t then contest the rearranged running of the race, but that he did nothing but thrive once back in Sydney.
“We couldn’t run on Friday night [seven-day rule] as I had treated him on the [previous] Saturday morning,” Ryan said.
“The stewards let me scratch him and he has not missed a beat since he’s been back at home. I’ve been telling everyone for days he would run ‘huge’.”
Saturday’s race effected some sorting of Slipper possibilities, with Godolphin’s $2.50 favourite Burma Star (Exceed And Excel) a disappointing fourth, and Chris Waller’s China Horse Club-Newgate colt Tropic (Zoustar) last on debut at $3.60, though possibly headed for a veterinary inspection.
Blitzburg (2 c Snitzel – Sierra by Orfevre) is the second foal and first to race out of the placed Japanese mare Sierra (Orfeve), herself a half-sister to Group 3 scorer Albert Dock (Deep Impact) and the stakes winner Mina De Oro (Rey De Oro).
Second dam Golden Doc A (Unusual Heat) won Santa Anita’s Las Virgenes Stakes (Gr 1, 8f) and was second in the Santa Anita Oaks (Gr 1, 8.5f).
Golden Doc A is a full–sister to another top-tier winner in the widely travelled Unusual Suspect, who took seven stakes wins ranging from the Hollywood Turf Cup (Gr 1, 12f) to – after being imported to Australia to be trained by Michael Kent – the Werribee Cup (Listed, 2600m) of 2012.
Having also run in two Melbourne Cups (Gr 1, 3200m), Unusual Suspect stood four seasons at stud in Australia, to little success.
Aside from Blitzburg’s younger brother, Sierra now has a weanling colt by Arrowfield’s The Autumn Sun (Redoute’s Choice), and was served by his barnmate Maurice (Screen Hero) in October.