Mr Snitzel strikes again with Perignon
Gai Waterhouse, Peter Moody, Mick Price, John O’Shea & Neville Parnham all have excellent winning strike rates with the progeny of Snitzel, but no-one has prepared more winners by him than his own trainer, Gerald Ryan.
On Saturday he produced Arrowfield graduate Perignon to confirm a place among the top 10 qualifiers for next month’s $2 million Magic Millions 2YO Classic (R) LR with a strong win over 1200 metres at Canterbury.
Perignon, fourth on debut in the Wyong Magic Millions Classic (R) LR nine days ago, settled back and wide from gate 10 during the early running. Jockey Brenton Avdulla did not press her until the 300-metre mark when Perignon sprinted sharply to score by a neck, with her ears pricked, from Look To The Stars, with Racy the same margin away in third place.
From the Japanese-bred mare Last Blaze, Perignon is yet another result of the highly successful Arrowfield-Jungle Pocket Partnership, and was a $350,000 purchase for Gerald Ryan from the 2014 Magic Millions Gold Coast Sale.
Last Blaze is a winning daughter of Narita Brian and the Australian Group 2 winner Rubidium, from the immediate family of dual Group 1 winner Dash For Cash. She has already left smart juvenile (and Group-placed 3YO) Hollyweird, also trained by Ryan, to Snitzel.
Unfortunately, Last Blaze slipped to Beneteau in 2013, but foaled a Snitzel colt this Spring for her new owner Oakland Park Stud in Western Australia.
Snitzel, himself third in Bradbury’s Luck’s 2005 Magic Millions 2YO Classic, has supplied placegetters in three of the past four runnings of the race, all of them sold by Arrowfield: Oakleigh Girl (2014, 2nd, trained by Dan Bougoure); Sweet Idea (2nd, 2013, Gai Waterhouse); and Schiffer (trained by Gerald Ryan to finish 3rd in 2011).
Perignon is the 29th individual winner by Snitzel to be trained by Gerald Ryan and she has plenty to live up to. The Ryan stable’s past and current Team Snitzel includes Group 1 winner Snitzerland and Group 2 winners Hot Snitzel, Flying Snitzel & Time For War who have collectively returned $3.5 million on the $266,000 they cost as yearlings.
Like Perignon – and Ryan’s Magic Millions Guineas runner Aerobar – they were all bred, raised and sold by Arrowfield. View the Stud’s 2015 Magic Millions Gold Coast & Inglis Classic drafts, including three fillies and two colts by Snitzel, here.
