From major carnivals to mid-winter racing, the winning never stops for Champion Sire Snitzel, here with Arrowfield’s Stallion Manager Joe Hickey. (PHOTO: Joan Faras)

New Group winner caps Snitzel’s six-win Saturday

Spring lead-up, major Carnival, sale-related feature or mid-winter raceday – triple Champion sire Snitzel makes news in every quarter of the year.

He’s posted domestic stakes wins in every single month of the 2019/20 season, and ticked off June’s instalment when Ingham Racing’s 4YO home-bred mare Sure Knee burst clear to win Saturday’s $125,000 BRC Sapphire S. 1630m G3. 

Sure Knee launches down the outside in the TAB Sapphire Stakes as @cwallerracing notches another black type winner

That’s a double for @LukeDittman 🙌 pic.twitter.com/PC6OMNVlwn

— Sky Racing (@SkyRacingAU) June 27, 2020

Sure Knee is Snitzel’s 103rd lifetime stakeswinner and one of the 18 horses that have added 25 Australian Group & Listed Races to his record this season.

Trained by Chris Waller, Sure Knee has now won 7 of her 24 starts and more than $530,000. Her dam Shawnee Girl (by Encosta de Lago), a Group 2-placed city winner from the immediate family of Northern Meteor & Smart Missile, is in foal to The Autumn Sun, while Sure Knee’s half-sister Oklahoma Girl has a weanling filly by Maurice. 

That was the headline act, supported by five other metropolitan victories by Sure Knee’s stablemates, Starla (also out of an Encosta de Lago mare) at Doomben & Orcein at Rosehill; the Mark Newnham-trained 3YO filly Fulmina, also at Rosehill; Morrissy for Leon & Troy Corstens at Caulfield; and Party Everyday for Tony Cruz at Sha Tin in Hong Kong. 

In around five hours, Snitzel’s Australian season earnings increased by $383,000 to $16.6 million, giving him a $1.5 million break on Pierro, his closest challenger for the Premiership.

It also means that June has been a million-dollar month for Snitzel – just like every month since September last year.