Our ‘ Closer Look’ statistical stories on active champion sires have proven a hit with our audience so this week we delve into Arrowfield Stud’s champion sire Snitzel, who has had a fee reduction this year and is on track for his fourth consecutive Australian General Sire’s title.
Snitzel’s service fee has been on an upward trajectory since 2009 when he covered the always tricky fourth book of mares at a fee of $22,000.
That book produced his smallest foal crop of 66 and ironically delivered his Cox Plate winner Shamus Award and the brilliant $2.4 million earner Sweet Idea, two horses that went a long way to establishing Snitzel as an elite stallion worthy to succeed his legendary sire Redoute’s Choice.
Bigger books of top quality mares in following years allowed Snitzel’s tally of stakes-winners to multiply quickly with his 2014 crop of foals smashing it right out of the park.
Those horses, now five year-olds, include last Saturday’s new stakes-winner Snitz, who has taken the stakes-winner to runners strike rate for just that crop to 15% stakes-winners to runners!
Due to the economic impact of the COVID pandemic this year, Arrowfield have elected to reduce Snitzel’s fee to $165,000, a sum that looks amazingly good value when you take into account what this horse has done and what he has in the pipeline.
Crop Year (SH) |
Mares Covered / Service Fee |
Stakes-Winners/ Best Performers |
2007 |
131 / $33,000 |
3SW’s G2 Chance Bye |
2008 |
99 / $33,000 |
6SW’s G1 Hot Snitzel |
2009 |
103/ $33,000 |
8 SW’s G1 Snitzerland, Sizzling |
2010 |
88/ $22,000 |
7 SW’s G1 Shamus Award, Sweet Idea |
2011 |
132/ $27,500 |
9 SW’s G1 Wandjina |
2012 |
152/ $27,500 |
10 SW’s G1 Redzel |
2013 |
249/ $33,000 |
18 SW’s G1 Russian Revolution. Heavenly Blue (South Africa) |
2014 |
226/ $49,500 |
21 SW’s G1 Trapeze Artist, I Am Excited, Invader, Summer Passage |
2015 |
214 / $71,500 |
7 SW’s G1 Estijaab |
2016 |
213/ $88,000 |
8SW’s G2 Splintex |
2017 |
169/ $110,000 |
3SW’s G2 Away Game |
2018 |
216/ $176,000 |
Yearlings |
2019 |
172/ $220,000 |
Foals |
2020 |
141 / $220,000 |
Yet to be born |
Click here for a Closer Look at Pierro.
Click here for a Closer Look at Exceed and Excel.