By Kelsey Riley
Leading Australian sire Snitzel (Aus) (Redoute's Choice {Aus}) reached a significant milestone on Saturday when Bukzel (Aus) became his 30th 2-year-old winner of the season when taking a Newcastle maiden on debut for trainers Peter and Paul Snowden. That win saw Snitzel tie the record for number of juvenile winners in a single season for an Australian sire, held by Without Fear (Fr), which has stood for 40 years. Twenty-nine of those winners have come in Australia and one in South Africa: the exciting Mike de Kock-trained colt Heavenly Blue (Aus).
Snitzel stands at Arrowfield Stud, where he will command a fee of A$110,000 this year, and that operation's Chairman John Messara said, “Snitzel's progeny are precocious, but his 2-year-olds of this year have been something else; we're thrilled with Snitzel's achievements.”
Snitzel's 2-year-old crop is headed by the unbeaten 'TDN Rising Star' El Divino (Aus), a half-brother to supermare Winx (Aus) (Street Cry {Ire}), who dead-heated for the win in the G3 Kindergarten S. at The Championships at Royal Randwick Apr. 2. Snitzel has a week remaining in the current Southern Hemisphere season to establish the outright record. His chances include the A$1.8-million Inglis Easter purchase America (Aus), who debuts at Hawkesbury on Sunday after placing in a pair of trials. America, who is out of the four-time Group 1 winner Alinghi (Aus) (Encosta de Lago {Aus}), races for a partnership that includes Coolmore, Stallion Racing and Jadeskye Racing, that latter of which raced Snitzel. America is trained by Snitzel's trainer Gerald Ryan.
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