Arrowfield's all-conquering Champion Sire Snitzel has made breaking records his dedicated profession.
He swept past his own Australian season earnings record back in February and is about to claim his second consecutive Australian General Sires' Premiership with a staggering total of more than $29 million. He also retains the 2YO Sires' and 3YO Sires' titles he won last season.
Snitzel's progeny have won almost twice the prizemoney of his nearest rivals I Am Invincible, and two-time champion sire Fastnet Rock, who have compiled outstanding seasons with career-best earnings in Australia. Despite that, they both fell short of Snitzel's record 2016/17 prizemoney of $16.2 million.
The sensational son of Redoute's Choice also tops the 2017/18 table by winners, wins and stakeswinners with 26 horses successful in Group & Listed company. That repeats his achievement with eight crops of racing age in 2016/17 and again equals Danehill's record, set with nine crops of racing age in 2001/02.
However, Snitzel's tally of 43 Australian stakes victories this season is a record he holds on his own, ahead of the previous mark of 36 stakes wins set by Danehill in 2004/05.
The quality of the performances put up by Snitzel's best domestic performers this season is impressive. Eighteen (69%) of the 26 are Group winners, with a standout performer in each age category: 2YO Estijaab, 3YO Trapeze Artist, 4YO Russian Revolution & 5YO Redzel. This quartet won six Group 1 races, the multiple winner being Trapeze Artist, successful against his own age group in the ATC Golden Rose G1, and then beating the older sprinters at weight-for-age in the ATC TJ Smith S. G1 and ATC All Aged S. G1.
Estijaab, Trapeze Artist and Redzel all won more than $2 million during the season, with Redzel's $7,532,300 prizemoney making him the country's leading earner. Remove them from Snitzel's total, and he still wins the Premiership with a new record figure.
A further eight horses were Group 1-placed in 2017/18, among them the valiant Tangled, runner-up in the Rosehill Guineas & Spring Champion Stakes, and third in the Australian Derby.
Snitzel's 26 stakeswinners come from his 2011 to 2015 crops and it is no accident that his remarkable 2014 crop (currently on 14.4% SW/Runners) has produced 12 of them. Ten of the 35 juvenile winners that last season gave Snitzel another record, exceeding the mark set by Without Fear in 1975/76, have won stakes races this term: Dracarys, Goodfella, I Am Excited, Jukebox, Menari, Muraaqeb, Perast, Snitzepeg, Snitzkraft & Trapeze Artist. Showtime (MVRC Stutt S. G2) and Eptimum (MVRC Red Anchor S. G3) posted their maiden successes as 3YOs last September.
As that male-dominated cohort shows, it has been a boys' year at Team Snitzel. Eighteen of his Australian stakeswinners are colts & geldings, but it was Emirates Park's filly Estijaab who delivered that precious Golden Slipper victory and 4YO mare Snitty Kitty (MRC Caulfield Sprint G2) joined Russian Revolution to give Snitzel a Group 1 quinella in the MRC Oakleigh Plate G1. (Trapeze Artist and Redzel did the same in April's thrilling ATC TJ Smith S. G1.)
Snitzel's multitude of stakes runners most weekends explains why his Australian record since 1 August 2017 includes three same-day stakes trebles(on 19 August, 21 October and 10 March),seven stakes doublesandfive Group race quinellas.One treble (I Am Excited, Estijaab & Redzel at Randwick on 10 March) and all but two of the doubles were also achieved at the same track.
New track records set on firmer-than-usual surfaces were a feature of the season's racing and Snitzel's progeny were responsible for four of them: Redzel, 1000m & 1100m at Randwick; Trapeze Artist, 1400m at Randwick; and Lubiton, 1600m at Moonee Valley.
Snitzel's 43 stakes wins are distributed across 11 tracks in New South Wales, Victoria & Queensland, withRandwickthe most regular scene of success (11 wins inc. the TJ Smith & All Aged), followed byRosehill (7 inc. the Golden Slipper & Golden Rose),Caulfield(6 inc. the Oakleigh Plate),Flemington(5 inc. the Darley Classic) andMoonee Valley(5 Group wins).
It's no surprise that 37 Group & Listed wins have been at distances from 1000-1400 metres, all six Group 1 victories among them. Success beyond 1400 metres by Arbeitsam (2 wins at 1600m & 2000m), French Emotion, Lubiton, Muraaqeb & Showtime (all successful in Group company at 1600 metres) indicate the versatility evident in Snitzel's lifetime record.
A total of 16 Australian stables can claim at least one Snitzel stakeswinner this season, and six have had more than one:Peter & Paul Snowden(Redzel, Russian Revolution, Dracarys & Calanda – 8 Group & Listed wins in all);Michael, John & Wayne Hawkes(Estijaab, Showtime & Sprightly Lass – 5 wins);David & Ben Hayes & Tom Dabernig(Thronum, Muraaqeb & Nomothaj – 4 wins),Gerald Ryan(Trapeze Artist & Menari – 6 wins);Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott(Arbeitsam & Sweet Redemption – 3 wins); andBjorn Baker(Lubiton & Goodfella – 3 wins).
Snitzel's Super 26 are the work of 26 different breeders and groups of breeders headed byKatsumi Yoshida's Northern Farm, responsible for Estijaab and, withArrowfield, for Showtime & Dracarys; andBell View Park Stud, breeder of Sweet Redemption and co-breeder of Lubiton. Lee Fleming(breeder of Redzel) and the Vieira Group(owner-breeder of Trapeze Artist) can celebrate their roles in eight Group & Listed victories (four Group 1) and The Everest, and combined season earnings of $10.2 million.
The sire-lines ofMr. Prospector(8 stakeswinners including Group 2 winners French Emotion, Showtime & Thronum) and Roberto(6 stakeswinners including Estijaab and Trapeze Artist) have enjoyed notable success with Snitzel this season. Most-represented dam sires among Snitzel's 26 stakeswinners are:Red Ransom(dam sire of Arbeitsam, Goodfella & Sweet Redemption),Elusive Quality(Dracarys & Nomothaj),General Nediym(Menari & I Am Excited) and Zabeel(Lubiton & Perast).
With his second Premiership Snitzel joins an elite group of multiple Champion Sires of Australia headed, of course, by his grandsire Danehill. His campaign to match his sire Redoute's Choice and win a third title begins early with Showtime nominated for the new season's first stakes race, the ATC Missile S. G2 on Saturday at Randwick.
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