Snitzel’s history-making habit

Snitzel has secured his second consecutive Australian General Sires’ Premiership with a new all-time prizemoney record of $29.2 million, and record totals of winners (173), wins (307), stakeswinners (26) and stakes wins (43).

Worldwide, Snitzel’s progeny earnings topped $31 million and Traces (in South Africa) and Untamed Diamond (in New Zealand) gave him a global tally of 28 stakeswinners and 45 stakes wins. He ends the 2017/18 season at No. 6 on the TRC Global Sires Rankings.

Snitzel has made plenty of history in the seven years since he first appeared among Australia’s top 10 sires in 2011/12.

After his second top 10 appearance in 2012/13, Snitzel rose rapidly to finish second on the 2013/14 Australian General Sires’ Premiership, with $9.8 million, less than $450,000 behind his sire Redoute’s Choice. It was the first time in Australian history that father-and-son sires standing at the same stud have completed a Premiership quinella.  

Snitzel’s 13 stakeswinners that season, including Cox Plate & Australian Guineas winner Shamus Award and dual Group 2 winner Time For War, put Snitzel among the top 5 on the 2YO and 3YO Sires’ tables as well. That pattern of success across age groups is a hallmark of his career.

In 2015/16, on the way to his fifth straight top 10 General Sires’ table finish, Snitzel matched Without Fear’s 40 year-old record of 30 juvenile winners in a season.

A year later in 2016/17 he claimed that record for himself with a total of 35 and underlined his dominance with the first single-sire Australian Group 1 2YO trifecta since 1982. That was achieved by Invader, Summer Passage & Trapeze Artist in the ATC Inglis Sires’ Produce Stakes.

Most significantly, Snitzel became the first grandson of Danehill to be crowned Australia’s Champion Sire with record prizemoney of $16.2 million – surpassing by $3.2 million Street Cry’s record set the previous season.

That wasn’t all. Snitzel’s 26 Australian stakeswinners equalled Danehill’s record set in 2001/02, and he completed a clean sweep of all the titles he contested by topping the 2YO and 3YO Sires’ Premierships.

Furthermore, he headed every category (earnings, winners, wins, stakeswinners, stakes wins) on all three lists, except overall wins where he was beaten a whisker by I Am Invincible, 274 wins to 273.

Matching such a spectacular season would have been remarkable enough, but Snitzel has left remarkable behind.

He led the 2017/18 General Premiership for almost the entire season, notching up $4.3 million and 15 stakes wins even before Redzel’s blitzkrieg victory in the inaugural $10 million Everest on 14 October.

Snitzel broke his own Australian earnings record in February, strode through $20 million in March, $25 million in April and $28 million in June and cracked $29 million in July. He has also retained his No. 1 position on the 2YO and 3YO Sires’ Premierships.

His final figure of $29.2 million is more than $13 million ahead of I Am Invincible and Fastnet Rock, who both compiled outstanding figures of their own. Even allowing for recent prizemoney increases, that margin is astonishing.

Perhaps of most relevance to owners, breeders and trainers is Snitzel’s representation in Group 1 races. In 2017/18 he had 31 Australian runners (almost 10% of his total) deemed worthy of at least one Group 1 start, and 12 of those horses won or placed in 20 Group 1 races. 

Snitzel’s 2014 crop, 3YOs of 2017/18, was the major contributor to his Australian season, turning out 12 winners of 20 Group & Listed Races and $10.9 million (37% of his total prizemoney).  All up, that crop has now produced 19 stakeswinners and earned $16.1 million, an amount exceeded only by the 2012 crop that produced Everest winner Redzel. 

The closest title race was for the 2YO Sires’ Premiership which Snitzel won with $3,648,965, just over $200,000 ahead of I Am Invincible. Golden Slipper winner Estijaab’s prizemoney made up almost two-thirds of that figure, with Listed winners Nomothaj, Sandbar & Prairie Fire and four other stakes performers in support roles.