There will be few better omen bets anywhere on Saturday than the four-year-old Snitzel mare De Grawin who claimed the Four Time Champion Sire Snitzel Sprint (1000m) at Randwick.
Ridden by Louise Day for trainer Joe Pride, De Grawin prevailed by a half-head after a titanic battle over the final 200 metres with the Zoustar mare Fanciful Dream with the Exceed And Excel mare Escaped three and a quarter lengths back in third.
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De Grawin (inside) toughs it out (Steve Hart)
It continues a wonderful run of success of late for Pride stable.
“It’s bit surreal, I have to give myself a pinch to make sure I’m not dreaming,” Pride said.
“I had an unfortunate little setback with this mare that did not enable her to race a couple of weeks ago so we ended up with a bigger gap between runs.
“She was fresh to saddle up today. She was a real little tart and I wondered what that would mean because her mother was exactly like that, she was a real handful.
“It’s rare to see a horse that can burn along at that pace then show the heart at the end of the race.”
De Lightning Ridge wins the Challenge Stakes in track record time (Mark Smith)
A homebred for David O'Keefe's Lockyer Thoroughbreds, De Grawin carries the same colours as her very talented dam De Lightning Ridge.
A daughter of Tale Of The Cat (USA), De Lightning Ridge won six races highlighted by a track record-breaking win in the Group II Challenge Stakes at Randwick when making her third start for Pride.
Out of the high-class, 4-time stakes-winner, Nanny Maroon (Alquoz), De Lightning Ridge had just four foals before her death and De Grawin is the last of them.
It may have been the reason O'Keefe kept De Grawin to race after originally entering her for the 2018 Australian Easter Yearling Sale.
As the name of the race suggests, Arrowfield Stud’s amazing Snitzel was crowned champion stallion for the fourth consecutive time when the season closed out of Friday.
The son of Redoute’s Choice has taken up where he left off. Halfway during the day, he has had a treble at Randwick and a winner at Eagle Farm.
4-time Champion stallion Snitzel (Mark Smith)
