Menari the Ferrari – Why All the Studs Want This One!

Tara Madgwick - Monday September 11
A new season delivers a new crop of stallion prospects as last season's two year-olds step out at three and either soar like eagles or sink like the proverbial.



For some colts, what they did at two is who they are and for the good ones it's often enough to earn them a slot on the roster of a major stud as the obligatory 'fastest 2YO'.

They have speed and precocity and not much else, but that's OK in Australia where we are often led to believe that's all people want anyway.

And then along comes Menari.

Menari has a touch of Hollywood about him!A stunningly good looking son of Snitzel, this is a colt whose imposing presence immediately suggests something special.

He's not good looking in a cookie cutter way like every other nice Snitzel colt, he's good looking in a Hollywood movie star eye-catching kind of way with his big baldy face and glowing red bay coat.

Menari failed to win a stakes race at two for Gerald Ryan, but it's fairly safe to say that heavy tracks probably played a significant role in that lack of success.

Top class colt Pariah had his measure at two when beating him in the Group III ATC Canonbury Stakes, but was no match last weekend when second to him in the Group II ATC Run to the Rose.

These colts appear to be the best sprinting three year-olds in Sydney, albeit without She Will Reign in the picture as of yet, but while Pariah is already earmarked for a stud career at Arrowfield, Menari is up for grabs.

A homebred for George Altomonte's Corumbene Stud, Menari never saw a sale ring and that's just as well as he's now worth many times over what he would have made as a yearling.

As a son of Snitzel, Menari is hot property as a sire prospect, but he also has a female pedigree that is really going to appeal given its diversity and penchant for throwing up not just good horses, but champions.

His first three dams are by General Nediym, Whiskey Road (USA) and Baguette, all of them highly successful stallions and back down his female line we find good tough New Zealand blood underpinning the speed that has been added more recently to the pedigree.

Menari is the fifth foal of juvenile stakes-winner Isurava, a full sister to Group II winner Ichihara and stakes-winner Au Chocolat, the trio all from Cut a Dash, a three-quarter sister to Group I VATC Thousand Guineas winner Whisked, the dam of 13 time Group I winner and $6million earner Tie the Knot.

It's a serious pedigree for a serious colt.

While racegoers will no doubt follow his career this spring with great interest given his obvious charisma and talent, behind the scenes the battle is just beginning to see where Menari will ultimately stand at stud.

Images Steve Hart.
Advertisment
More Reading...
Kiwi Bred Gringotts Wins $3million Big Dance
Talented New Zealand-bred gelding Gringotts(NZ) (Per Incanto) delivered a big payday for his connections with victory in Tuesday’s A$3 million Big Dance (1600m) at Randwick.
Tycoon Star Makes Winning Debut in G3 Maribyrnong Plate
Tycoon Star looked like the consummate professional when making a winning career debut in the Group III Darley Maribyrnong Plate (1000m) to kickstart Melbourne Cup Day at Flemington.
2024 Melbourne Cup Result - It's Knights Choice
The 2024 Melbourne Cup has been run and won with Knight’s Choice, a five-year-old gelding by Extreme Choice victorious.
Future Looks Bright for Excess
Corumbene Stud's George Altomonte was impressed enough by Julius Sandhu's handing of Group II MRC Rubiton Stakes winner Lofty Strike to entrust the Cranbourne-based trainer with the full-sister Excess and was rewarded with a debut win at Cranbourne on Thursday.
Storm Boy Headed to Ireland
Coolmore have today announced via Twitter that top class Justify (USA) colt Storm Boy will be continuing his racing career in Ireland in 2025 under the care of Aidan O’Brien.
Kiwi Bred Grey Wins Subzero for OTI at Flemington
New Zealand-bred gelding Cloudland proved a handful for James McDonald at Flemington on Tuesday, but the champion jockey was in a forgiving mood after they had claimed top honours in the Subzero Handicap.
Rosemont and Partners Stakes Quinella on Cup Day
Written Tycoon posted his second new stakes-winner on Melbourne Cup Day when promising three year-old gelding Catoggio took out the Listed VRC Amanda Elliot Stakes (1400m)  for Rosemont Stud and partners, who also race the second horse Bosustow.
$2.2 Million Daughter of Snitzel Sets a New Mark for a Filly
Snitzel hit another home run when Arrowfield Stud’s filly from the Group 1 Willian Reid Stakes winner Silent Sedition set a new benchmark for a filly when knocked down to Hawkes Racing for $2,200,000.
Cup Day Stakes-Winner for So You Think
The Listed VRC TAB Trophy (1800m) for three year-olds on Cup Day at Flemington drew a competitive field of up and comers with So You Think gelding Opening Address stamping himself as a bright prospect for the future with a stylish victory.
Cometh the Hour, Cometh the Man – Shinzo Rises to Golden Slipper Triumph
Widely regarded as the most open Golden Slipper for years, the $5million high octane dash at Rosehill on Saturday delivered drama and delight as champion trainer Chris Waller collected his first Golden Slipper trophy with a homebred colt for Coolmore trained to the minute.