Freshman Sires Unstoppable
There’s a reason Snitzel holds the title of Leading First Season Sire 2009/2010:
– 2 Snitzel quinellaed the STC Golden Slipper Festival on Sale Handicap (1100m) on the first Saturday of the New Year: ONE MORE GRAND (ex Lambada Lady (USA), by Seattle Slew) came into Saturday’s race a 5.5 length winner of his previous start. Like his sire – who won the G1 Oakleigh Plate in similar conditions – he demonstrated no difficulty in transferring his form to a rainswept Rosehill track and won by an easy 3.8 lengths. ROCK MY HEART (ex Helisseous, by Helissio (Fr)) made up considerable ground to run second after badly missing the start, a performance prompting commentators to remark that the colt’s first win will not be far off.
– Prior to this duo’s performance, INTERTIDAL (ex Miss Rainmaker, by Hurricane Sky) had already accrued dual metropolitan wins, joining fellow city winner CHANCE BYE (ex Rouge Femme, by Red Ransom) who trounced her rivals by 3.5 lengths in the $250,000 Inglis Nursery Handicap.
– BOUZY ROUGE (ex Blurrta, by Bahhare (USA)) has a win and two placings from four starts.
– On 9 January THIRD MAN (ex Missing Sheets, by Western Symphony (USA)) finished third (just 0.3 lengths behind the leader) in a 1000m 2YO Handicap at Randwick.
– On 16 January in a 2YO Handicap at Randwick the Gerald Ryan-trained TOP DROP (Fine Red, by Red Ransom (USA)) was never closer than four wide for the entire trip of the Spring Valley Smart Energy Handicap (1100m) but found enough to repel the challenge of Testarhythm by a short neck with 2 ¾-lengths back to Much Much More in third place. Ryan was effusive in his praise for Snitzel after Top Drop’s brave win and made a startling comment about a few Snitzel progeny we have yet to see “I’ve got five of them [by Snitzel] in the stable and this bloke is probably the worst one out of the lot of them. I’ve got Intertidal, Rock My Heart and a couple of unraced ones I rate above him. Having said that, he’s done a terrific job today.”
– Yesterday TOUGH DIAMOND (ex Sound Reason, by One Pound Sterling) ran 3rd in the TRC Food Lovers on Albert 2YO H.
They are impressive statistics for any sire let alone a first season stallion: 5 winners and 3 placegetters from 11 starters for $461,510 in prizemoney. The early precocity of the Snitzel stock have prompted comparisons with the stallion’s own racetrack performance – a record-breaking 2YO who won his first start in the Listed Breeders Plate (1000m) by three lengths, who trained on at three to claim G1 glory against the older sprinters including Takeover Target and Virage de Fortune.
Starcraft has also produced exceptional results for a first season sire -each of his 5 runners to date finishing in the first 3 past the post.
– In Australia he has 2 metropolitan winners: STARSTREAMED (ex Gay Performance, by Bataan) and STAR WITNESS (ex Lion Hunter, by Last Tycoon) plus 2 metropolitan placegetters from 4 starters, and in New Zealand a placegetter from 1 starter.
– The stallion’s early results add to his results in Europe which saw his first ever starter – DON’T TELL MARY (ex Polar Falcon, by Master Willie) – win a Listed race whilst KEEP COOL (ex Darshaan, by Sadler’s Wells) is G3 placed in Germany.
