Canberra's turn for a Snitzel stakes double

Not content with a stakes double at Randwick on Saturday, Snitzel did it all over again on Sunday at Canberra, ending the weekend with four new stakeswinners and a $600,000 lead on the General Sires’ premiership.

2YO colt Trapeze Artist’s three-length victory in the $300,000 Black Opal S.1200m G3 has firmed up, if not quite finalised plans for a tilt at the $1 million ATC Inglis Sires’ G1 on 1 April.

Watch Trapeze Artist win the Canberra RC Black Opal S. G3.

Trainer Gerald Ryan said, “He’s always had the talent…he went really good the other day and I said to Bert with the blinkers on he’ll be really, really hard to beat, but I just wasn’t sure if he was up to this class.

“We haven’t left him in the Slipper – his main aim has always been the Sires’ and the Champagne but we’ll just see how we go from here.”

Trapeze Artist is the first winner out of Treppes (by Domesday), a half-sister to Group 1 winner Crawl, and he was offered at last year’s Inglis Easter Sale.When he didn’t reach his reserve, he was put into training by his breeders Bert Vieira and family, and has now won two of his 3 starts and almost $200,000. 

Remarkably, Gerald Ryan has now trained 11 stakeswinners by his former stable star Snitzel: Group 1 winner Snitzerland; Group 2 winners Flying Snitzel, Hot Snitzel, Perignon, Spill The Beans & Time For War; Group 3 winners Dances On Stars, Fireworks & Trapeze Artist; and Listed winners Samantha & Ygritte. All of them except Dances On Stars, Fireworks, Samantha & Trapeze Artist are Arrowfield graduates.

Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott also have a very good record with Snitzel’s progeny and notched up their 7th stakeswinner by him when 4YO gelding Dark Eyes scored by a head in the $200,000 Canberra Cup 2000m LR.

Watch Dark Eyes win the Canberra Cup LR.

It was also the 7th win for Dark Eyes (ex Cinnamon Dove by Gulch),who was bred by Warringah Stud Farm and bought from the Widden Stud draft for $68,000 by Darby Racing.

Snitzel’s stakes double-double over the weekend was backed up by another eight stakes performers in four countries: Invader & Redzel (Randwick), Snitzson (Flemington), Muraaqeb (Canberra), Spoils (Morphettville), Royal Fashion (Ellerslie, NZ), Heavenly Blue (Turffontein, South Africa) and Wimbledon (Kranji, Singapore).

With 21 winners of 24 Group & Listed Races on the board, this is already a record season for Snitzel whose career statistics now feature 56 stakeswinners, 11 same-day stakes doubles and a very healthy 8 per cent Stakeswinners/Runners.