Champion stallion Snitzel is enjoying a fantastic day, but his 6-year-old son Baraqiel must be among his most unlikely sons heading to the top.
Seeing a racetrack for the first time as a 5-year-old gelding in May, Baraqiel looks on track to take his place among the elite sprinters when smashing a top-class field in Saturday’s Group II Mittys McEwen Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley.
The winner of his first four starts, Baraqiel was defeated for the first time when third at Flemington in July and was third again at Flemington two months later. The son of Snitzel showed a liking for Moonee Valley over 1200m on September 27.
Ridden by Ben Allen for Leon and Troy Corstens and Will Larkin, Baraqiel came three wide under double wraps on the turn. Striking the lead on straightening, Baraqiel continued to put a margin on the chasing pack.
The son of Snitzel defeated the 4-year-old I Am Invincible entire I Am Unstoppable by two and three-quarter lengths with the consistent 6-year-old Shalaa gelding Mornington Glory a long neck back in third, while lowering Miss Andretti’s class record.
Troy Corstens said it was a fitting result for Baraqiel’s patient owners.
“I've been in the game for over 30 years and worked hard. To see these people enjoy this like this, it's amazing. That's what we do it for. You know, we all want to get winners and what not, but to see these guys have such a good day, it's fantastic,” Corstens said.
It was a sentiment shared by Wii Larkin.
“It’s been setback after setback - but we just had to press on, and there was a time there where the owners were ready to give it all up,” Larkin revealed.
“Troy, he said, ‘I’ll cop the rehab by myself and I‘ll get him back up and going because you're not losing this one’. He's quite special.
“It's just so exciting. I get a bit emotional. It's taken a lot of work to get him here. You know, we' ve always thought that once he's able to take a sit off him and not do all the work for the rest of them, we're going to see an even better horse.
“Ben has harped on about that at every start but he' s just got such an electric gait speed and he's never had something to chase.
The $1,000,000 slot race, the Meteorite, to be run at Cranbourne on November 23, is under consideration.
“When you're running for any prize money like that it's definitely exciting so it's a good concept they' ve put on, (slot holder) Southside Racing. Going to be an option but I think off the back of that a Group One is probably going to be in the forefront of our mind at the moment but where he goes to it's exciting, you look in the calendar there's so many good races for him and to sit there and put a line around a big group one like that is pretty special.
“(This is) the best week I've had. Three really good group two wins so we can't do it without the team around us. Jasmine rides this horse every day, she does a fantastic job, he's not easy, you know it. Tireless amounts of work between here, Geelong, Benalla, the farm, our own rehab program got him back to the races, just proud of the team.”
A $150,000 purchase for Bennett Racing/Anthony Freedman Racing/Blue Sky Bloodstock P/L (FBAA) from the Arrowfield Stud draft at the 2020 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, Baraqiel is a three-quarter brother to Group 1 ATC Australian Oaks winner Autumn Angel out of the Group III winner Angel Of Mercy (Hussonet), whose career came to a close when second to Cosmic Endeavour in the Group 1 Tatt’s Tiara.
A $575,000 buy for Katsumi Yoshida at the 2014 National Broodmare Sale, Angel Of Mercy has a 2-year-old filly by The Autumn Sun and a yearling colt by Maurice (JPN).
She was covered by Hitotsu last spring.
Baraqiel is the 151st stakes-winner for Snitzel and his third stakes-winner on the day.
