Three graduate stakeswinners in 24 hours
B2B Thoroughbreds' Arrowfield & Northern Farm-bred filly Lazzura (outside) edges out Satin Stiletto in the Woodlands S. LR (PHOTO: Steve Hart/Sportpix)
Sky Lab, Lazzura & Bittercreek have compiled a rapid-fire sequence of Arrowfield Magic Millions graduate stakes victories at Scone & Doomben, in the process extending the records of Real Impact in Australia and of Snitzel as a superlative Champion sire of juveniles.
First up on Friday was Sky Lab (Real Impact-Gold Mission by Flying Spur) who has turned the $48,000 trainer and co-owner Paul Perry paid for him at the 2019 Magic Millions Gold Coast Sale into a $1.4 million career, crowned with a thoroughly well-deserved, over-the-odds maiden stakes win in the $200,000 Darley Scone Cup 1600m LR.
It’s a boil over in the Scone Cup! 💥
Sky Lab sailed down the outside to win the Scone Cup at big odds in a photo finish for @perry_racing1! pic.twitter.com/v29IeA1SiL
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) May 17, 2024
Bred in partnership with Redbank Pty Ltd & GSA Bloodstock, Sky Lab is one 10 stakes performers – 7 bred or co-bred by Arrowfield – left by Deep Impact’s Group 1-winning son Real Impact in his three-season Australian stud career. Arrowfield is now breeding from Sky Lab’s winning full sister Starliner, in foal to Hitotsu.
On Saturday at Scone, the progressive Chris Waller-trained 2YO filly Lazzura (Snitzel-Laguna Azzurra by Heart’s Cry) backed up her debut win on 27 April with a hard-fought victory in the $200,000 Arrowfield Woodlands S. 1100m LR.
Only just! 😬
Favourite backers were sweating late, but Lazzura holds on in the Woodlands Stakes at Scone @TommyBerry21 | @cwallerracing pic.twitter.com/YbBN6R4x6t
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) May 18, 2024
Lazzura’s edge over Satin Stiletto was small, but her jockey Tommy Berry sees big blue skies ahead of her.
“I loved the way this filly pinned her ears back and showed an impressive turn of foot. I won it on Libertini and In Secret so the top fillies can come through this Scone race. This was only Lazzura’s second start and she has plenty of upside. She is a good filly and will be even better next season.”
Bred by Arrowfield’s long-standing joint venture with Japan’s Northern Farm, Lazzura was a $500,000 purchase by B2B Thoroughbreds from Arrowfield’s 2023 Magic Millions Gold Coast draft, also the source of last weekend’s Group 3 winner Althoff (Written Tycoon-Miss St Tropez).
Lazzura is Snitzel’s 4th Woodlands Stakes winner in the 12-year history of the race, after Debonairly (2017), Macroura (2020) and Hip Hip Hurrah last year.
Laguna Azzurra, from the family of leading Japanese sire Kizuna, has a yearling colt by The Autumn Sun catalogued as Lot 1348 in the upcoming Magic Millions National Sale, and is in foal to Snitzel.
Less than three hours after Lazzura’s win, Snitzel’s son Bittercreek, bred by Belinda Bateman from the fine broodmare Rose Of Cimmaron (by Bite The Bullet), out-finished El Morzillo (from a Snitzel mare) to claim the $300,000 Spirit Of Boom Classic 1200m G2 at Doomben.
He is Snitzel’s third winner of the race after Sizzling (2012) & Tangled (2017).
Not a bad way to break the maiden status!
The $375,000 yearling purchase, Bittercreek, finishes strongly to take out the G2 Spirit Of Boom Classic at Doomben.
@blake_shinn | @MaluaRacing pic.twitter.com/tRVIOQFHzQ— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) May 18, 2024
Bittercreek was a $375,000 buy for Dean Harvey’s Baystone Farm and his trainers Leon & Troy Corstens who have nominated him for the BRC Sires’ Produce S. G2 on 1 June and the J.J. Atkins G1 two weeks later, with the aim of building his CV as an attractive stallion prospect.
“He’s just got the greatest attitude, and tries his guts out…He puts his head down and he just tries, and that’s a really great attribute for a racehorse.”
– Buyer & co-owner Dean Harvey on Bittercreek
At Doomben stable representative Will Larkin said, “We came here thinking the 1200 might be a bit short as he’d want to stretch out. But he’s a good horse still working it out, and he put it all together today.”
Snitzel now has 144 stakeswinners, 56 of them 2YOs – only two short of Danehill’s tally of juvenile black-type winners from his Australian-bred crops. Snitzel’s current season Australian record now reads 11 stakeswinners, including 5 2YOs, more than any other sire.
And Lazurra & Bittercreek have posted the 37th same-day stakes double of Snitzel’s exceptional career.
