‘They might be different sizes, but they share the same racetrack credentials’: Snitzel’s generational legacy

Cover image courtesy of Arrowfield Stud

Recently deceased Snitzel has many achievements of his own, as the winner of the G1 Oakleigh Plate and a four-time Australian Champion Stallion. But what about his long term legacy? According to the Australian Stud Book, he currently has 33 sons at stud in Australia, and a multitude of broodmare daughters.

His 160 stakes winners, from 1631 runners, at an impressive rate of 9.8 per cent stakes winners to runners, is headlined by 23 Group 1 winners. His ten racehorses with Championship titles are 2022/23 Champion 2YO Shinzo, 2017/18 Champion 2YO Estijaab, 2016/17 Co-champion 2YO Colt Invader, 2019/20 Champion 2YO Filly Away Game, 2020/21 Champion 2YO in NZ Sword Of State, 2017/18 Champion 3YO Colt Trapeze Artist, 2013/14 Champion 3YO Colt Shamus Award, 2024’s Joint Leading 3YO Male on the WBR Rankings (Sprint) Switzerland, Top Male on The 2016-17 NZ 2YO Free Handicap Summer Passage, and 2017/18 Champion Sprinter & Older Horse in Australia Redzel.

His sire sons are creating a legacy for Snitzel too. In terms of raw stakes winner numbers, G1 Cox Plate winner Shamus Award is Snitzel’s current leading sire son with 28 stakes winners, and Russian Revolution has 12, with many young sires about to make an impact.

Shamus Award leads the sons

With 28 stakes winners, Shamus Award is the most successful son of Snitzel to date. “I don’t think there’s any disputing Shamus Award’s mantle as Snitzel’s best and most successful son. He has six Group 1 winners among his 28 stakes winners and a stakes winners to runners ratio of six per cent. He’s without a doubt the most impactful son of Snitzel out there,” said Rosemont Stud’s Ryan McEvoy.

“Interestingly, he’s not a typical Snitzel. He’s a Cox Plate and Australian Guineas winner who was a seven to 10 furlong racehorse, and his Group 1 winners are in that range too. Shamus Award certainly got a gene that allows his progeny to get over a little further than the typical Snitzel. I’d tend to say the similarities physically are more like Shamus Awards’ damsire Success Express, perhaps.”

Out of winning mare Sunset Express (Success Express {USA}), Shamus Award went into the G1 Cox Plate as a maiden, although he had placed four times in stakes company as a 2-year-old. His 3-year-old season was a stand-out, winning the G1 Cox Plate in the spring and G1 Australian Guineas in the autumn.

“On his raw statistics, you can see a lot of that Snitzel dominance (in Shamus Award), even in the way that Shamus Award has a variety of sirelines that works with him, which is not dissimilar to what Snitzel enjoyed.

“Look at the More Than Ready line, which Snitzel has had so much success with the likes of Shinzo, and Shamus Award clearly has an affinity with that line too. I see a lot of similarities in the affinity of certain sirelines, in how impactful both stallions are with their stakes winners to runners ratio and with their Group 1 horses to runners, both are elite stallions.”

Snitzel’s 23 Group 1 winners have a spread of 21 different damsires, with only Encosta De Lago and General Nediym repeated, and Shamus Award’s six Group 1 winners show the same spread with all six having a different damsire.

“It’s an attitudinal thing. Shamus Awards are known as being straightforward, easy to train horses, and what they offer at two, they’ll get better at three and four. That good temperament comes through Snitzel from Danehill, and much like the sireline if you look after them at two, you’ll be rewarded as an older horse.”

“We are proud to have Shamus Award, and we feel for Arrowfield (on the loss of Snitzel). It’s a significant loss. They must be so proud to have stood a horse with such amazing dominance and who will leave a lasting legacy through his sire sons and wonderful daughters.”

Newgate Farm’s Snitzel crew

Newgate Farm’s Henry Field was effusive in his praise of Snitzel, citing him as his favourite stallion, at least until his own star Extreme Choice came along. “Snitzel has been an incredible stallion, both for our racing partnerships and our stallion business. He’s a horse we’ve had a huge amount of success buying yearlings by, with In The Congo winning the Golden Rose, Russian Revolution in the Galaxy and Oakleigh Plate, Invader won the Sires’ Produce, and Wild Ruler the AJ Moir. We’ve bought four individual Group 1-winning colts by him,” said Field.

“Any sire with Snitzel’s dominance will make an important sire of sires. We’ve had great luck with him. He was a horse that Arrowfield managed beautifully during his career, and I think he was truly a world class stallion, not just an Australian champion. Those horses are few and far between.”

Newgate Farm stand Snitzel’s sons Russian Revolution, In The Congo, and Wild Ruler.

“Until Extreme Choice came along, Snitzel was my number one favourite sire and we’ve had huge success buying yearlings by him. At the sales, I want to buy as many colts by him as I can. We are fortunate to have Extreme Choice on our roster, and my feeling is that stallions like Extreme Choice and Snitzel are elite on a world level. They are very rare, and it’s a sad loss for the Messara family who have done a great job developing Snitzel.”

“I have unbelievable admiration for John Messara as a stud master. As a young stud master, I am in awe of his ability to develop stallions and he did a phenomenal job with Snitzel, Redoute’s Choice, and Danehill.”

On Newgate Farm’s three Snitzel sons, “All three in his mould as speed focused types. I’m confident over time that Snitzel will be a sire of sires, and his line will reign for many generations to come.”

Russian Revolution’s oldest crop are 5-year-olds and he’s had six stakes winners in each of his first two crops for 12 in total. “It’s rare that a stallion becomes Champions First and Second Season sire. Interestingly for Russian Revolution, he covered a poor quality of books in his third and fourth seasons, and is suffering a bit because of that, but his next two crops who are yearlings and weanlings are off the nut quality wise. I’m certain he’ll rebound. He’s a terrific stallion and he’s in for a massive 24 months ahead of him.”

Of the two unproven stallions Wild Ruler’s first crop will be 2-year-olds next season, while In The Congo’s first crop will be yearlings next season. “Both have comparable record to Snitzel himself and both are out of high class mares. The recipe is there, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see either of them be the heir to the throne.”

When asked if they share a similarity to Snitzel on type, Field said, “They are both real speed types of horses. Snitzel was himself a fast twitch muscle horse, and both of our have that same speed orientation. Wild Ruler is a bigger horse with more scope while In The Congo is a neater more compact horse.

“They might be different sizes but they share the same racetrack credentials, and they are out of fast mares, just like Snitzel was with Snippet’s Lass, and so they are comparable types.”

Gallery: Snitzel's sons standing in Newgate Farm, Images courtesy of Newgate Farm

Wild Ruler’s dam Gypsy Robin (USA) (Daaher {USA}) was a dual Group 2 winner in America, while In The Congo is a son of South African Champion Sprinter and triple Group 1 winner Via Africa (Saf) (Var {USA}).

Coolmore’s investment in Snitzel

Coolmore stand three sons of Snitzel in Shinzo, Switzerland, and Best of Bordeaux, while this year’s retiree Private Life is out of a Snitzel mare.

“Snitzel is a horse we’ve invested in over a long period of time now. He’s undoubtedly one of the best stallions we’ve seen in Australia this century and to have his two best credentialed sons at stud and the two we believe are the most likely to carry his sire line is amazing,” said Coolmore’s Tom Moore.

Moore believes it would be a mistake to try and find a son of Snitzel who looks like he did; a small, neat, strong sprinter. “While Snitzel is an absolute freak of a stallion, they come in all different shapes and sizes. They are top class at two and three, they are sprinters and milers. For a horse who was only a sprinter, Snitzel is extremely versatile as a stallion. We have a number of young sons of Snitzel in our racing team, and hopefully we can unearth another Shinzo or Switzerland among them.”

Gallery: Snitzel's sons standing at Coolmore, images courtesy of Coolmore

Coolmore bred Shinzo, having purchased his dam Samaready (More Than Ready {USA}) for $1.5 million in 2020, and foaled down Shinzo at Coolmore.

“We bought Samaready in foal to Snitzel, carrying Shinzo, and the fact that she was in foal to him was a massive drawcard. Samaready was a great mare herself. She’d already produced a Magic Millions winner by Snitzel, and she was carrying a full relation.” Dual Group 1 winner Samaready produced Exhilarates (Snitzel) as her first foal, and Exhilarates won five stakes races among her six wins with earnings over $2.2 million.

“Now he’s won a Golden Slipper and is Snitzel’s first Golden Slipper winning colt. To have a Slipper winner by Snitzel who is a full brother to a Magic Millions winner and out of a Blue Diamond winner is an extremely privileged position to be in. He was the most popular first season sire last year. He’s a very rare offering.”

Shinzo covered 218 mares in 2024 at a fee of $55,000 including GST and stands at the same fee in 2025.

“To be able to back it up this year with a Coolmore Stud Stakes winner with the quality of Switzerland is incredible. Switzerland was a high class 2-year-old, he won his first three at two, then came back as a spring 3-year-old to win the Roman Consul Stakes and the Coolmore. His Coolmore was a breathtaking win.

“We think with both Shinzo and Switzerland, we have Snitzel’s two best sire prospects ever to go stud. And that’s only enhanced by the reception to those two horses by breeders throughout Australia and New Zealand. They’ll get every chance to emulate their great sire.”

Switzerland will stand his first season in 2025 at a fee of $60,500 including GST.

When asked if they are physically similar to Snitzel, the answer was no. “Shinzo and Switzerland are very different physically. Switzerland was a $1.5 million yearling, and a talking horse at Easter in his year. He’s 15.3hh, and very much like Snitzel himself, all speed with loads of quality. Shinzo is equally as good looking but stands at 16.2hh and is a much scopier horse.

“Both were top class 2-year-olds, outstanding racehorses with top class pedigrees, and both will suit different styles of mares. It’s a good position to be in.”

For those with more budget constraints, Coolmore also stand Snitzel’s G2 Silver Slipper winning son Best Of Bordeaux, who was second in the G1 Golden Slipper, and won the G2 Roman Consul at three. He stands his third season in 2025 for a fee of 13,750 including GST.

“He was the highest rated 2-year-old colt of his year. Snitzel was an incredible sire of 2-year-olds and we have three of his very best 2-year-old colts of all time on our roster. Best Of Bordeaux was the first colt home in the Golden Slipper, and if it wasn’t an extremely heavy track that day, he might have gone one better. He had a huge amount of natural speed, and he trained on at three to win the Roman Consul, a race also won by Switzerland as well as Fastnet Rock, Zoustar and others, so it’s a strong form race.”

Snitzel’s broodmare sire influence

Retiring to Coolmore Stud in 2025 is G1 Caulfield Guineas winner Private Life, a son of Written Tycoon out of Group 3 winner and Group 1 placed Aliyana Tilde (Snitzel). He stands at $19,250 including GST.

“Snitzel’s influence as a broodmare sire has gone from strength to strength in recent years. Private Life is a great example of that being a Guineas winner, but the thing about Sntizel is that while he’s a top class sire of 2-year-olds, he was also an extremely versatile sire and Private LIfe is out of a multiple Group 1 performing mare who was effective at a range of distances. This allowed Private Life to be competitive at a range of distances and was competitive in Group 1 sprints too.”

Private Life won from 1100 metres to a mile, and as well as winning the Caulfield Guineas, he was fourth in the G1 CF Orr Stakes and a close fifth in the G1 Champion Sprint won by Sunshine In Paris (Invader).

“Private Life is a particularly good looking horse, as evidenced by his $650,000 price tag as a yearling, but looking at him, he looks very little like Written Tycoon or Snitzel. He’s his own man, all quality with great scope, a beautiful colour and he’s a horse that really leaves an impression on you when you se him. He has great presence.”

Private Life isn’t the only young stallion at stud in Australia with Snitzel as a damsire. Joining him are Celestial Legend, Growing Empire, Marine One, Profiteer, and The Odyssey. Snitzel’s first Group 1 winner as a damsire was G1 Golden Slipper winner Mossfun (Mossman) and now he has 46 stakes winners in this role, six of them at Group 1-level.

With such a strong number of sons at stud, including several who are already successful, the future of Snitzel’s sire line looks assured of becoming a long term legacy.