Snitzel stars quinella Expressway Stakes
Trapeze Artist's three Group 1 wins in 2017/18 included two defeats of older horses at weight-for-age. (PHOTO: Bronwen Healy)
Any doubts that Snitzel can maintain the ferocious pace he’s setting at the head of the current Australian General Sires’ Premiership were put aside on Saturday after impressive campaign openers by new and returning stars.
3YO colts Trapeze Artist and Showtime resumed with rousing performances to quinella the weight-for-age $200,000 ATC Expressway S. 1200m G2 at Rosehill. Already successful in last Spring’s Golden Rose G1 and Stutt S. G2 respectively, they made clear their readiness for sterner tests to come.
Watch Trapeze Artist & Showtime quinella the ATC Expressway S. G2.
Trapeze Artist’s trainer Gerald Ryan, recording his 32nd stakes win with Snitzel’s progeny, said, “I’ve always thought he’s flown under the radar and I think this Autumn you’re going to see a nice horse. Right from the word go this time in I said to his owner that I reckon this horse is really flying.”
Trapeze Artist was bred by Bert Vieira and his family who paid $190,000 for the Domesday mare Treppes in foal to Snitzel at the 2014 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale. Two years later, the resulting yearling colt was passed in for $300,000 at the Inglis Easter Sale and so Trapeze Artist has earned more than $1 million in the Vieira family’s black and gold colours.
Arrowfield Magic Millions graduate Showtime, raced by Katsumi Yoshida, Eric Koundouris, Alan Jones, Jonathan Munz, Greg & Barbara Ingham and the Stud, ran the the fastest last 600 metres of the race, and aims now at the VRC Australian Guineas G1 on 3 March.
Snitzel’s support acts at Rosehill were a pair of first-time-out 2YOs, the Snowden-trained colt Stratosphere and Arrowfield’s home-bred filly Adamina, prepared by Gerald Ryan and educated by master horseman Rick Worthington.
Stratosphere pushed the favourite Performer hard to finish a very close second in the Canonbury S. 1100m G3, and there was a similar margin between second-favourite Fiesta and 30/1 debutante Adamina in the Widden S. 1100m G3.
The ATC Sweet Embrace S. G2 at Randwick on 3 March may be Adamina’s next start, while Stratosphere’s price for the Golden Slipper G1 shortened from $51 to $15. His jockey Glyn Schofield believes he’s more than capable of stepping up to Group 1 level. “A bigger field and the pressure that comes with it will really suit him.”
At Caulfield 4YO mare Snitty Kitty (2nd, WJ Adams S. LR), 3YO colt Muraaqeb (3rd, Manfred S. G3) and 2YO debutant Prairie Fire (3rd, Chairman’s S. G3) took Snitzel’s stakes performers for the day to seven. They are all nominated for Group 1 races during Melbourne’s Festival of Racing which starts next weekend.
The weekend’s racing has also brought Snitzel close to another piece of history. His season earnings of $16,162,616 mean he’s now only $57,520 away from breaking his own Australian prizemoney record, set in 2016/17 – with almost half of this season still to come.
