New Year, new Group winner for Snitzel

Snitzel signed off on 2016 with his 47th stakeswinner, Le Cordon Bleu at Canterbury, and almost exactly 24 hours later has chalked up his first stakeswinner of the new year.

Odyssey Moon relished the chance to run his own race on Flemington’s “Straight Six” course, taking up an early lead and, aided by an energetic Noel Callow ride, held out his nine rivals in the $160,000 VRC Standish H. 1200m G3.

Callow said, “Full credit (to him). He was there to be run down and he pinned the ears back. I’ve never ridden him and I hit him (with the whip) and he didn’t like it at all so I kept him going (hands and heels).”

Watch Odyssey Moon win the VRC Standish H. G3.

Trained by Robert Smerdon for Belinda Bateman, Odyssey Moon was bred by the highly successful Arrowfield/Jungle Pocket partnership and originally purchased for $25,000 from Arrowfield at the 2014 Inglis Classic Sale. He was subsequently re-sold for $120,000 as a 2YO to James Harron.

His dam, Run To The Moon (by Arch) is a half-sister to dual US Grade 1 winner Jostle and was sent to Arrowfield in 2005 by Katsumi Yoshida. Now owned by Aquis Farm, she is again in foal to Snitzel.

As a juvenile, Odyssey Moon was prepared by Rod Northam to win the ATC Inglis Nursery (R) LR and dead-heat for second in Pride Of Dubai’s Sires’ Produce S. G1. All up, he’s won four races and placed eight times in black type company for earnings of more than $720,000. 

Snitzel was represented by another Flemington winner on Sunday, the 3YO colt Snitzson, prepared by the Hayes/Dabernig partnership. With three wins from five starts, he definitely qualifies as progressive and has the $750,000 Australian Guineas G1 on 4 March in his sights.

Seven winners, two of them stakeswinners, in seven days have propelled Snitzel at speed into 2017 and the impending Magic Millions Gold Coast Sale and Carnival will only increase the level of excitement around him and his progeny.