Snitzel plays kingpin at Easter
You can have all the money in the world but it seems there’s one thing you can’t have: too much Snitzel.
Breeding giant Coolmore isn’t short of cash, and they’ve used plenty of it to buy more and more sons of Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice) at the Inglis Easter sale.
The mob from Jerry’s Plains already has two Snitzels on its stallion roster in Shinzo and Best Of Bordeaux. A third – Switzerland – will join it this spring.
But with the gangbusters way the Arrowfield titan is still going – at almost 23 if you don’t mind – the clamour for Snitzel stock was as fierce as ever at Riverside.
And it was Coolmore’s Tom Magnier leading the charge, with a major splash on three potential stallions for a combined $5.7 million.
On Sunday, he paid $2.7 million for Arrowfield’s Snitzel colt out of Ms Bad Behavior (Blame), a full-brother to Coolmore’s Group 1 winner Switzerland.
And on Monday he followed by buying two more million-dollar Snitzel colts, for $1.5 million each.
Lot 195, also from Arrowfield’s draft, is the first living foal of the unraced Subella (Teofilo), who’s out of a three-quarter sister to champion galloper and sire Dubawi (Dubai Millennium).
And Lot 374, from boutique breeders Tyreel Stud, is the second foal of the stakes-placed Festival Miss (Bernardini), a distant relative of Group 1 winner Arcadia Queen (Pierro).
Home Affairs (I Am Invincible) might have trumped Snitzel for top lot – with his $3 million colt beating Snitzel’s $2.7 million son – but Snitzel was the top sire of the sale, by two key markers. He topped the aggregates – at $22.27 million, and the averages (for three or more lots sold) with 31 moving at an average of $718,387. That was comfortably ahead of second-best Zoustar (Northern Meteor) on $644,138 for his 29 lots.
Of the 25 million-dollar lots sold, Snitzel was responsible for seven of them, three more than second-best Zoustar.
It’s a reflection of how Snitzel is still achieving great things.
The four-time champion stallion is the leading Australian stakes-winning sire this season, with 14, two more than his nearest rivals, and is third with a bullet by earnings. He’s top of the two-year-old charts with his third Golden Slipper (Gr 1, 1200m) winner just crowned in Marhoona (Snitzel), and he’s second among broodmare sires for good measure.
When asked if Coolmore could be in danger of becoming a bit Snitzel-heavy, Magnier looked bemused, pointing out that when you’re on a good thing …
“We had eight sons of Galileo at stud at one stage,” he said.
He added Coolmore’s Snitzels have “all got good pedigrees, and a horse like Switzerland will be very popular when he goes to stud”.
Aside from Magnier’s stash, Snitzel had four other million-dollar lots, giving him seven of the 25 at the sale.
On Sunday, a Snitzel colt out of La Mexicana (I Am Invincible) fetched $1.7 million.
On Monday, Emirates Park moved to buy what it hopes will be its third Golden Slipper-winning filly by Snitzel, going to $1.2 million for Arrowfield’s Lot 201, out of Super Cash (Written Tycoon) with trainers Anthony and Sam Freedman and Julian Blaxland Bloodstock.
That was followed by another filly, Lot 356, out of English (Encosta De Lago) selling from Newhaven Park to Hilldene Farm for $1 million, before Te Akau Racing paid the same amount for a colt from Harlow Gold (Tavistock) from Glenlogan Park’s draft.
Coolmore’s colt from Subella, who like Shinzo and Switzerland will be trained by Chris Waller, represents an intriguing blend of speed-centric Snitzel with staying sire Teofilo (Galileo), who finished a personal-best seventh on the British broodmare sires’ table last year.
“Teofilo is doing well as a broodmare sire, and will work well with Snitzel,” Magnier said.
“We’re pretty happy with the type of this colt. He’s a very mature, fast looking horse. He was one of the better Snitzels in the sale. He definitely looks like he could be a more forward type.”
Tyreel Stud’s Linda Monds was “lost for words” after Coolmore paid $1.5 million for her Lot 374.
“That’s a phenomenal result for our farm and our team. Alex Barlow, our stud manager, has encouraged me all the way that this colt would be a stand-out at Easter. He was extremely popular throughout the inspection days, but you never know,” said Monds, reporting the sale was “up there” with Tyreel’s highest.
“It’s been a difficult couple of years in the sales ring for small breeders like us, so this just encourages me to keep going with confidence, and he’ll definitely do us proud on the track I’m sure.”
Monds, like Magnier and so many countless others, is a major fan of Snitzel.
“He’s unbelievable – what a stallion,” she said. “I’ve supported Snitzel for many years now. I’ve just been thrilled with the results we’ve achieved, and he gets you a champion on the track.”
Still buzzing from having homebred Marhoona become their third Slipper-winning filly in 11 years – two of them by Snitzel – Emirates Park snared what they hope will be another one in Lot 201 for $1.2 million, with their partners.
With farm executive Hussain Lootah visiting from Dubai, Emirates went back to the well in two respects.
The filly is another daughter of Snitzel, like Emirates’ Slipper winners Marhoona (last month) and Estijaab (2018).
And while Marhoona is a homebred, it was at Easter in 2017 that Emirates bought Estijaab, as the equal fourth-top lot, for $1.7 million.
“We’ve had that success with Snitzel winning two Slippers for us, so hopefully he can do three,” Emirates’ general manager Bryan Carlson said of the filly, the third foal of Super Cash, who won four stakes races including three Group 2s.
“She’s a great physical type, but also her mental attitude was great. She just gets on the with the job and doesn’t put a foot wrong. Hopefully she can win us some races and then later on become a broodmare.
“Snitzel is the dominant two-year-old sire. I think she can run at two and hopefully she can be there at the Slipper next year.”
Meanwhile, Emirates on Sunday offered a daughter of the first of their Slipper-winning trio, 2014 victor Mossfun (Mossman). The mare’s foal, by Emirates’ half-owned stallion Tassort (Brazen Beau), was passed in at $1 million.
Estijaab’s third foal, by American sire Gun Runner (Candy Ride), fetched $500,000 at Magic Millions Gold Coast in January, bought by PR Thoroughbreds.