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Snitzel fries bookies in sizzling debut win
By John Schell
September 26, 2004
The Sun-Herald
A sensational betting plunge was landed in the first juvenile race of the season yesterday when the Gerald Ryan-trained Snitzel scored a runaway winner in the Breeders Plate.
Owner Damion Flower, who had previously owned a 25 per cent share in AJC Derby winner Clangalang, admitted to a "nice win" on Snitzel, which firmed from $2.50 into $1.95 yesterday after $2.75 was offered in pre-post markets on Friday.
"I don't mind a bet so I had something on him, but there was a few others that snuck in before me and had a go at it," said Flower, who races Snitzel with his wife, Camilla.
Snitzel is Flower's nickname, a moniker he inherited in his schooling days.
"I was involved in a car accident and was looking pretty ordinary in the face," he recalled. "When my mates saw me they all said I looked like a snitzel, so the name stuck."
Racing NSW betting steward Terry Griffin said the only horse the punters wanted in the Breeders Plate was the winner.
"It was a huge go," he said. Griffin said punters took all the $2.75 they could get on Friday and just kept putting it on yesterday.
Jockey Glen Boss positioned Snitzel, a $260,000 Magic Millions purchase by boom sire Redoute's Choice, up with the leaders from the outset and he strolled home by three lengths.
"He jumped well, got up there, and showed great balance for a young horse," Boss said.
"Expect to see him in the autumn when the big races come around."
Ryan said Snitzel is one of the best two-year-olds he has trained since basing himself at Rosehill.
"I haven't had that many horses that have been serious Golden Slipper contenders, but this bloke is," he said.
"He's not overly big, but he's got a grouse shoulder, a great girth on him, and is a lovely balanced horse.
"Since he's got into his preparation he's learned to relax and switch off. He's just a dream to do anything with.
"He is a two-year-old that if I wanted to take to Melbourne for the spring races, then I could. He takes everything in his stride."
Boss told connections that Snitzel had "something up his sleeve" in the run to the winning post and rival Danny Beasley, who rode runner-up Banished ($19) for Gai Waterhouse, agreed.
"My horse turned in an excellent effort but was beaten by a better horse. The winner is well above average," he said.
Al Samer ($26) was 2 lengths behind Banished in third place.
SMH
Snitzel proved his class when he raced into contention for the $1 million Conrad Jupiters Magic Millions 2YO Classic by winning Australia's opening two-year-old event of the new racing season on the weekend.
And if the first juvenile race season is any guide, it's going to be another big twelve months on the track for graduates of Australia's leading thoroughbred sales company Magic Millions.
Sydney hosted the first two-year-old race of the season when a quality field of youngsters contested the listed Breeders' Plate (1000m) at Warwick Farm on Saturday.
The race provided a perfect result for Magic Millions with the first four horses over the line all being graduates of January's yearling sale on the Gold Coast.
Snitzel led home the graduates with his impressive winning performance. He finished too well to score an impressive victory, prompting outstanding horseman Gerald Ryan to rate him his best ever chance at Golden Slipper glory.
On the line the son of Redoute's Choice held a sizeable three length break over Banished, while Al Samer was third a further two and three quarter lengths back.
Snitzel stopped the clock at 57.43 seconds - a new race record. The final 600 metres of the event covered in a sizzling 33.98 seconds. All this without Snitzel blinking an eye lid!
Gerald Ryan, who bought Snitzel for $260,000 on the Gold Coast, was not surprisingly delighted with the three length victory.
"He showed a lot of race sense," Ryan commented. "He bounced out, got there, rested and then quickened. He's a nice little horse."
Ryan said Snitzel was "as good" a two-year-old he's ever sent to Sydney.
"He's a dead set autumn horse, a Golden Slipper horse. I haven't had many horses I've considered serious Golden Slipper material, but he is," Ryan added.
The bay colt is the second foal of the Sydney and Melbourne stakes winning Snippets mare Snippets' Lass. She is from the stakes winning Storm Bird mare Snow Finch. Third dam A Realgirl is also a multiple stakes winner, while fourth dam Secret Verdict was twice Group One placed.
Banished, prepared by leading Sydney horsewoman Gai Waterhouse, ran impressively on debut for second, while Al Samer, who is also by Redoute's Choice, was third for Graeme Rogerson. Longhorn, who was fourth, is also sure to improve for Sydney's premier trainer John Hawkes.
http://www.ozhorseracing.com/racingarchive.html
Ryan not Chicken with Snitzel
Trainer Gerald Ryan has decided to give highly rated juvenile Snitzel two lead-ups to the Magic Millions at the Gold Coast in January.
The good news is that Snitzel will add plenty of glamour to Wyong’s new race, the Strawberry Hill Stud Slipper (1100m) on December 9.
The Wyong Slipper, restricted to Magic Millions purchases, debuted last year with plenty of interest but Snitzel’s inclusion this year will be even bigger.
Snitzel will then relocate to Ryan’s Gold Coast stable to be prepared for the Tommy Smith Slipper at Doomben before the Millions on January 8.
By: Racenet - Tuesday, 16 November 2004
From aapracingandsports.com.au:
Monday, 22 November 2004:
Gerald Ryan can't hide his enthusiasm when it comes to exciting colt Snitzel who he describes as the best two-year-old he has trained since Paint.
It's a big wrap considering Paint won the 1996 Blue Diamond Stakes and Black Opal Stakes before running second to Merlene in a roughhouse Golden Slipper that year.
Snitzel has only had one start so far but impressed all at Warwick Farm on September 25 with his three length win over Banished and after a short break he is back to begin his summer-autumn campaign in earnest.
The colt's program includes the Strawberry Hill Slipper at Wyong on December 9, the Tommy Smith Slipper at Doomben on December 27 and the Magic Millions on January 8.
"My plan is that he'll win the Magic Millions and the Golden Slipper and anything else he goes in," Ryan said.
"He's the best two-year-old I've had since Paint.
"He's a strong, athletic, well developed horse although he's not overly big.
"But he's a lovely correct horse and well balanced and I think he's very special."
Glen Boss won aboard Snitzel at Warwick Farm and is committed to riding him through to the Magic Millions at the Gold Coast on January 8.
Ryan backs Snitzel to sizzle
By John Schell
December 6, 2004
Trainer Gerald Ryan will be out to put Snitzel back on top of Golden Slipper and Magic Millions discussions with a win in Thursday's Strawberry Hill Slipper at Wyong.
The Redoute's Choice colt has been joined in the race to be Sydney's premier juvenile by impressive fellow debut winner Mnemosyne and Gonski, also successful first-up at Rosehill last Saturday.
Snitzel showed his ability with an easy win in the Breeders' Plate at Warwick Farm at his only start, on September 25.
The Magic Millions will be run at the Gold Coast on January 8, so Ryan will start the two-year-old in Thursday's $100,000 event sponsored by John Singleton with Glen Boss, who rode Snitzel in the plate, retaining the mount. Boss was in Japan at the weekend to ride in an international jockeys' series.
The Strawberry Hill Slipper is restricted to Magic Millions horses, and Wyong chief executive Tony Drew said he was "totally stoked" with an impressive list of 18 nominations.
Ryan said Snitzel had pleased him during his break from racing, and expects him to be the one to beat against a line-up including debut winner Permissive, trained by Gai Waterhouse.
"He has done good since his short break and come up good," Ryan said. "On the strength of his first win then you would think he will be the one to beat but, on the other hand, he might be a one-race wonder. You never really know how good they are until they come back and do it a second time."
Ryan said Snitzel was "a pretty athletic sort of horse that keeps himself fit" but he expected him to benefit from Thursday's run.
"He'll head up to Queensland after the Wyong run and, if he settles in well, then he may run in the TJ Smith Slipper at Doomben on December 27. Otherwise he'll go straight into the Magic Millions."
Gonski is a Magic Millions horse and was nominated for the Strawberry Hill Slipper, but the colt's trainer Tim Martin said on Saturday he would not race again until the autumn, when he would be aimed at the Golden Slipper.
As for a clash between Snitzel and Gonski next year, Ryan is looking forward to it. "Gonski is a very, very good horse and we'll be there to take him on at some stage," he said. "You've got to race against the best and that's what we all love to see, the top horses racing against each other."
Chris Munce, who will ride Permissive, expects his filly to be competitive against Snitzel, on the strength of her first-up win at Randwick. "She did a very good job to win first up and she is a very professional filly," said Munce, who won last year's Magic Millions and Golden Slipper on Dance Hero. "She overcame a wide barrier and went on to win the race impressively and she'll face her acid test against Snitzel. He's a good horse, so we'll get a good guide on Permissive's ability when they meet."
Danny Beasley, who won yesterday's Mayors Cup at Gosford on Guy Walter's Summer Cup-bound mare Vereza, will ride the Singleton-owned Sprung for Clarry Conners in the Strawberry Hill Slipper. Sprung is a first-starter just like Singleton's other entrant Tuggerah Lakes, which is prepared by Tony Wildman.
Singleton enjoyed success at Gosford yesterday when the Brett Partelle-trained Nyavirezi, a filly he purchased a half share in last week following her impressive debut win, scored at her second start.
Graeme Rogerson, who won the Strawberry Hill Slipper last year with Not A Single Doubt, will start Breeders' Plate third placegetter Al Samer on Thursday and stablemate Bradbury's Luck, sixth in the plate.
Darren Beadman will ride first-starter Power Of Destiny for Kevin Moses in the race, in which Tony McEvoy, head trainer for Lindsay Park, has Red Enzo entered.
Meanwhile, Beadman's son Mitchell, an aspiring apprentice, begins 10 days' experience in Moses's stable at Randwick today.
Mitchell Beadman is a regular in the jockeys' room at Sydney racetracks, where he helps clean and prepare race gear for his father and Corey Brown, among other riders.
smh
Early start will benefit Snitzel in slipper battle
By Max Presnell
December 26, 2004
The Sun-Herald
Classy colt Snitzel has what most regard as a foaling date advantage over Blizzardly in the Tommy Smith Slipper, a listed event for two-year-olds, at Doomben tomorrow.
"The foaling date is quite relevant and it's a disadvantage to arrive late in the season," Racing NSW handicapper Mark Webbey said.
Webbey explained that it doesn't play a role in the weighting of horses in races but the proposition is supported by veterinary opinion that, in their two-year-old season and as early three-old-olds, every month counts in strength and development.
Snitzel, successful at his only two starts, was foaled on August 24. Blizzardly, an easy winner at her only attempt, was born on November 24, so the filly is very much his junior.
There are exceptions to the foaling date rule. Lonhro, for instance, was a December foal but was beaten at his debut as a two-year-old in November and won his first race late in January.
Only one other November foal is racing over the next two days, with none at Randwick and Caulfield today. Catrap (November 1) goes around in the T.J. Smith Slipper.
Apart from her youth, Blizzardly has to overcome the No.12 gate but has the services of Chris Munce, rated Australia's best barrier jockey. No doubt Glen Boss will be out to at least equal Munce in this category as Snitzel will launch from No.13.
Blizzardly is a kilogram better than in Golden Slipper conditions as fillies in the T.J. Smith Slipper still receive 3kg, whereas Australia's richest two-year-old race has whittled them down to 2kg.
With two wins to his credit, Snitzel is the form horse but opinions were mixed about his last effort in taking the 1000m Strawberry Hill Slipper at Wyong when he ended with a 1-length margin over Al Samer. He was more impressive downing the same horse into third place in the Breeders' Plate over the Randwick 1000m in September.
Still, with only one race under her girth, Blizzardly, by the American stallion More Than Ready, is even more of an unknown quantity. Her sections weren't as dynamic as those of Gonski, possibly the best colt seen so far this season at Rosehill, but Blizzardly wasn't at full throttle and gave the impression she would be suited by the 1200m tomorrow.
Blizzardly is prepared by Gai Waterhouse, who has a great chance of securing the first leg of a two-year-old double with Banished in the Theo Green Handicap at Randwick today.
Banished was a three-length second to Snitzel in the Breeders' Plate but his two recent barrier trial efforts indicate the Snippets colt has improved. Banished also has to extend to 1200m first-up but his main danger, Longhorn, is in the same situation. Longhorn, from the John Hawkes stable, failed in the Breeders' Plate at his only run but was wide throughout.
Waterhouse will again use Munce on Banished coming from barrier seven, while Corey Brown jumps out of nine on Longhorn.
Perhaps Banished has more tactical speed but Longhorn, by Danehill, could be better suited by the journey. No doubt Baranbili, a trifecta chance with them, will be better over the 1200m than the shorter distances the filly has taken on at her only two starts, one being a distant second to Blizzardly. But class could be her problem.
Waterhouse faces a couple of hurdles, but with Banished she has an age advantage as he was foaled on August 27, a month before Longhorn. And class could overcome the Blizzardly deficit. That's how I'm going to bet.
Seabiscuit
29-12-2004, 15:01
This Snitzel thing seems pretty good. Best 2yo since Todman some are saying and I agree.
In that Tommy Smith Slipper he went quickly at the start, quickly in the middle and quickly at the end. Also had to face a direct challenge from Blizzardly (who is not a superstar but not a dud either) and destroyed it. How do you beat a horse like that?
I cannot see how they will beat him in the Millions unless the jockey is silly enough to get him pocketed on the rails. Also I suppose a wet track might hurt him. But apart from that he should just win.
Just The Star looks 2nd best in the Millions.
Mnemosyne and perhaps Gonski look nice 2yos too. Mnemosyne might prefer wet tracks.
But sit back and bask in the glory of Snitzel. You won't see his like for again for awhile. He is a superstar and best 2yo since Todman. They should have a match race between Snitzel and the SQUIB.
Snitzel the favourite on Millions menu
December 28, 2004
Unbeaten colt Snitzel is poised to start one of the shortest-priced favourites in Magic Millions history after his commanding win in the $150,000 Tommy Smith Slipper at Doomben yesterday.
Snitzel was quoted at 9-4 yesterday morning but bookmakers expect the son of Redoute's Choice to be on the brink of odds on in the Magic Millions Classic over the same 1200-metre journey at the Gold Coast on January 8.
Jockey Glen Boss was moved to rate Snitzel (8-11 fav) the best two-year-old in this country after he won by six lengths from Street Smart (14-1), with Blizzardly (15-8) two lengths away third.
"He showed his authority today and I would say at this stage he's the best two-year-old in Australia," Boss said. "The first time I rode him I felt he was a natural two-year-old and he's just kept getting better.
"He relaxed so well for me and at the 300 metres he just lowered a foot in his action and just went 'whoosh'. His acceleration was breathtaking but I was easing him down in the last 50m."
Trainer Gerald Ryan admitted he was surprised by the level of criticism levelled at Snitzel following his win at Wyong on December 9.
"I couldn't believe all the knockers that came out of the woodwork and I had to go and have another look at him to make sure he was the same horse," Ryan said. "If they were ever going to beat him they had to beat him at Wyong, and he has improved since that race and I think there's still more improvement in him."
Ryan believes the key to Snitzel's dominance is his relaxed nature.
"He walked around the enclosure today as though nothing bothered him, and out in the tie-up stalls he was nodding off to sleep," he said.
Snitzel won with his ears pricked but, despite the ease of his triumph, Ryan was reluctant to label him the best juvenile he has trained.
"Hurricane Sky ran a world-record time when he won the Blue Diamond and Paint won the same race at his third or fourth start," Ryan said. "But I will say he is the best two-year-old that I've had since Paint."
Boss was content to allow Snitzel to race outside Blizzardly, and is adamant the colt performs at his best when he can chase another horse.
"I could have easily led Blizzardly if I wanted to but I feel he's a better horse chasing, and that was the object of the lesson today," he said.
While Snitzel was shoring up his Magic Millions favouritism, the performance of Blizzardly clearly had jockey Chris Munce and trainer Gai Waterhouse concerned.
"She was going a bit too hard in the lead and she wasn't happy out there because she just wanted to get it over with," Munce said. "She wasn't stretching out properly in the straight."
Waterhouse will monitor Blizzardly in the next few days but hinted she would cancel a Millions campaign if the filly did not please her. "It's very simple - if I'm not happy with her she won't run," Waterhouse said.
AAP
Seabiscuit
30-12-2004, 07:03
Kev Moses obviously knows a good horse when he sees one. He is running scared from the best 2yo since Todman. Only bit I don't understand is that he says he won't run in the Millions due to Snitzel but then says he might try for the Slipper or Sires. Won't Snitzel be running there too? I agree with Kev that Power of Destiny won't be up to the best 2yo since Todman.
Gerald Ryan is modest in only going so far as to say Snitzel is the best 2yo he has trained since Paint. He should be going further than that.
Story from www.aapracingandsports.com.au
Power Of Destiny to dodge Snitzel
Story By Stephen Rodgers
Wednesday, 29 December 2004:
Runaway Randwick winner Power Of Destiny has the Snitzel jitters and will miss the Magic Millions Classic (1200m) at the Gold Coast on Saturday week.
Trainer Kevin Moses pulled the pin on a northern campaign for Power Of Destiny, raced by prominent owner Nick Moraitis, after he witnessed Snitzel's breathtaking win in the Tommy Smith Slipper at Doomben on Monday.
"I watched Snitzel win and he'll be too smart so I might just wait and maybe try for the Slipper or races like the Sires or Champagne," Moses told RadioTAB.
"He's a colt and it's probably more important to win a Group One race than to win a Magic Millions."
The son of Danehill was rated a $15.00 chance with NSW TAB Fixed Odds prior to the decision to miss the Millions.
Moses was keen on Power Of Destiny's chances at Randwick which followed a debut sixth in the Strawberry Hill Stud Slipper won by Snitzel at Wyong.
"The 1000 metres at Wyong was never going to suit him," Moses said.
"But he needed the education and that's what he got."
Power Of Destiny will have only a short break from racing before he is aimed at the autumn carnival in Sydney.
"I won't send him for out for too long," Moses said.
"He's still got a lot to learn and I'll talk to Nick but he'll probably just go for 10 days or something like that."
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© 2004 AAP
More by judgement than luck: Rogie to conjure latest trick
By Darren Prendergast
January 3, 2005
http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2005/01/02/bradbury_narrowweb__200x281.jpg
Talented: Bradbury's Luck, pictured with Chris Munce aboard last month, is being prepared by Graeme Rogerson for a lucrative autumn triple-header.
Photo: Jenny Evans
A showdown with undefeated juvenile Snitzel in Saturday's $1 million Magic Millions will be the first step of an audacious autumn campaign trainer Graeme Rogerson is considering for his talented colt Bradbury's Luck.
Rogerson is eager for the last-start Canonbury Stakes winner to tackle Australia's three richest races for two-year-olds - beginning with the Magic Millions and including next month's $1m Blue Diamond Stakes at Caulfield and $3m Golden Slipper at Rosehill on March 19.
"Everyone laughed at Rogie when he said Savabeel would run in the Cox Plate and win it, so we will wait and see what unfolds over the next few weeks or so," said Dean Watt, who helps manage the racing affairs of Bradbury's Luck's part-owner, Bruce Reid.
"I know Rogie has a good opinion of Bradbury's Luck and that's why he is looking at a pretty ambitious campaign for the horse."
Jockey Hugh Bowman is excited about linking with Bradbury's Luck for the first time in the Magic Millions. Bowman picked up the ride aboard the third favourite when last year's Magic Millions winning hoop, Chris Munce, opted to partner Bevan Laming's undefeated filly Just The Star in the Gold Coast classic.
"I think he's got a good chance," Bowman said of Bradbury's Luck, which will be joined in the Magic Millions by stablemate Al Samer. "Obviously Snitzel looks like he is the horse to beat. He's a real standout.
"But I think Bradbury's Luck is a horse that has got the right sort of attitude for a pressure race like the Magic Millions. I've ridden him a couple of times in work since the Canonbury and I'm delighted with how he is going into the race.
"I think he is definitely in the top three chances."
Gerald Ryan's crack colt Snitzel is likely to start one of the shortest priced favourites in Magic Millions history. The classy youngster dominates betting for the sales-restricted race having cruised to three impressive victories in as many starts.
The son of four-time group 1 winner Redoute's Choice tuned up for the Magic Millions by blowing away his rivals by six lengths in the listed Tommy Smith Slipper at Doomben last month. Big-race specialist Glen Boss, who has yet to win a Magic Millions, retains his association with Snitzel.
Snitzel left Bradbury's Luck in his wake when the pair debuted in the Breeders' Plate at Warwick Farm in September. While Snitzel was dashing to victory, Bradbury's Luck bungled the start, then was blocked for a run before running on for sixth.
The colt returned from a short break with a solid win in the Canonbury Stakes on December 18 over a field that included last Saturday's impressive Widden Stakes winner, Pasikatera. Gai Waterhouse has earmarked the Blue Diamond Stakes as a likely target for Pasikatera.
While Waterhouse, who has won three of the past five Magic Millions, won't have a runner in the classic on Saturday, the trainer will saddle up odds-on favourite Roadagain in the Magic Millions 3YO Trophy. Munce takes the ride on Roadagain while Bowman will be reunited with Gold Coast-trained gelding Doonan.
Bowman rode the Helen Page-trained Doonan to victory in the $1m Golden Rose in August and he believes the three-year-old should not be underestimated on Saturday.
"I think he would be a genuine chance going by his win in the Golden Rose, which was very good," Bowman said. "Helen Page knows the horse like the back of her hand and I'm sure she will have him spot-on for the day."
smh
Boss sure Snitzel can sizzle from 'perfect' gate
By John Schell
January 5, 2005
Glen Boss was a winner when Magic Millions hotpot Snitzel came up with gate 11 at yesterday's barrier draw at the Jupiters Casino on the Gold Coast.
And after snaring enough for a round of drinks from Damion Flower, owner of the undefeated two-year-old, after a side wager on what alley Snitzel would be allotted, the champion jockey declared everything on track for his first triumph in the 1200-metre Magic Millions.
"Barrier 11 is perfect, it's a great draw for him," Boss said after watching Flower's pregnant wife Camilla select the gate from a limited number of wide alleys left from which to choose.
Flower was also happy, despite having hand over a paltry sum to Boss after the jockey predicted an odd-number barrier would be drawn for Snitzel.
With third emergency Virage De Fortune coming up with barrier five, Snitzel is likely to jump from gate 10 in the $1 million juveniles' dash for cash on Saturday.
"I've got plenty of options from there," Boss said. "It doesn't matter what anything else does in the race. My bloke has good speed and can put himself wherever he is comfortable.
"If he jumps good, he could go up and lead, and then again he could sit off them.
"In his win in the Tommy Smith Slipper [at Doomben on December 27], he travelled well, just sitting off Blizzardly, and then dashed away from them. He is versatile."
Snitzel made his debut with a runaway win in the Breeders' Plate at Warwick Farm in September, the first two-year-olds' race in Sydney this season, and then won the Strawberry Hills Stud Slipper at Wyong before easily claiming the Tommy Smith.
Trained by Gerald Ryan at Rosehill, the colt by Redoute's Choice has settled in well at Ryan's Gold Coast base, and Flower thinks the colt's $1.50 favouritism is deserved.
"He's done everything asked of him and has looked pretty good, so he is definitely the one to beat," Flower said. "The gate is pretty good for him, too. If he had drawn barrier one, two, three of four [and was] a bit slow to jump, he would get crossed and could get into trouble.
"From out where he is, he can run his own race."
As for the main rivals to Snitzel, Bevan Laming's unbeaten filly Just The Star, to be ridden by Chris Munce, fared badly when drawing gate 17.
The filly Meriwether, trained by Tony McEvoy and a winner of two from two, drew barrier four and has form Brisbane jockey Stathi Katsidis on board.
Cox Plate-winning trainer Graeme Rogerson has two runners, with Hugh Bowman to ride Canonbury Stakes winner Bradbury's Luck from barrier two and Jim Cassidy on Strawberry Hills Stud Slipper runner-up Al Samer from gate nine.
Of those contenders, Boss is most wary of Bradbury's Luck, which had no luck when unplaced behind Snitzel in the Breeders' Plate.
"Bradbury's Luck is clearly the horse to beat, especially from his draw," Boss predicted.
"I know Snitzel beat him easily when they had their first starts, but Bradbury's Luck [was slowly] out of the gates that day and had no luck.
"He is sure to go forward from his draw and, being out of Doncaster Handicap winner Skating, he is bred to be good."
Like Snitzel, Bradbury's Luck is also by Redoute's Choice.
Munce wasn't too concerned about the wide gate for Just The Star, which he will ride in a workout on the course proper at the Gold Coast this morning.
"She has done nothing wrong in winning her only two starts, but I'll know a lot more about her after I ride her Wednesday morning," Munce said.
In the Magic Millions Trophy for three-year-olds, Munce will ride the Gai Waterhouse-trained Roadagain from barrier two. Roadagain, the $1.70 favourite, has won his two starts back from a spell and clashes with Golden Rose winner Doonan and with Tippitaka, trained by McEvoy and owned by John Singleton.
Singleton, who part-owns the Magic Millions sale company, was at the draw with wife Julie and his happiness was noticeable when Olympic gold-medal-winning swimmer Giann Rooney drew gate one for Tippitaka, to be ridden by Corey Brown.
Singleton also has Sprung (barrier six), to be ridden by Scott Galloway, in the two-year-olds' Magic Millions, while Brown will be riding Noodle Night (barrier eight) for Shaun Dwyer in that race.
In today's $150,000 Silk Stocking at the Gold Coast, Munce will ride Fictitious Lady for Waterhouse.
With Sydney mares La Reata and Isle Of Gibraltar scratched from the race, Brown's ride, Lindalay, will gain a start for trainer Stephen Jones, who also has Best French, winner of the race last year when trained by John O'Shea, set to start, with Katsidis to ride.
MARKETS
$1m 2YO MAGIC MILLIONS 1200m,Gold Coast, Saturday
$1.50 Snitzel
$8 Meriwether
$11 Bradbury's Luck
$13 Just The Star
$17 Al Samer, Noodle Night
$21 Sprung
$34 Katsidis, Rashini, Stakeholder
$51 Emit Time, Upilio
$67 Aladdin's Lion (2em), Owzat, Virage De Fortune (3em)
$101 Legal Pursuit, Moonlight Shadow
http://www.smh.com.au/news/Horseracing/Boss-sure-Snitzel-can-sizzle-from-perfect-gate/2005/01/04/1104832110721.html
Seabiscuit
07-01-2005, 15:30
Not even the great uncertainty of racing can stop Snitzel, the greatest 2yo since Todman. It looks a great day's racing tomorrow. Starting off with bets in Florida and Louisiana followed by a great meeting on the Gold Coast. Pity about Sydney and Melbourne.
I have just posted the following punting advice on another forum -
I cannot understand why punters go looking for "value" on inferior placegetters when faced with the greatest certainty of all time. There are only 2 place spots up for grabs after all with Snitzel filling one of them.
I just hope I can find some mug tomorrow willing to bet me $1.01 a win for Snitzel. I consider that value. If I can get $1.01 you won't be able to wipe the smile off my face.
Not even the great uncertainty of racing can stop Snitzel, the greatest 2yo since Todman. If I can get $1.01 you won't be able to wipe the smile off my face.
Hope you got your dollar + a cent Seabikkies...what happenned to the greatest 2yo since Todman? Yes he had some excuses...pushed wide etc...but he caved in a bit I thought.
You should have taken more notice of the subtle and almost subliminal tip for the race that appeared below on this thread.
Seabiscuit
08-01-2005, 17:25
He is still the greatest 2yo since Todman. Obviously trainer Ryan and the owners care little for restricted breeders races designed for the purpose of lining the pockets of Singo and Harvey. Today's race was part of a clever plan to throw people off Snitzel for the Slipper and get a better price for that most prestigious juvenile race.
cheesebeast
08-01-2005, 18:44
You're on a roll seabiscuit laying the squib and now your mock stops the best horse since Todman keep the hot tips coming!How's the smile on your face after you collected your 50c divvie????
Seabiscuit
09-01-2005, 09:43
Yes it is great to be on a roll. I have not backed a winner since JFK died but I did manage to obtain odds far higher than my 1.01 value rated price so I am still smiling. It is all about the value you see. One day before I die one of my value rated runners will come in.
Snitzel still the one to beat: Ryan]
By John Schell
January 10, 2005
Gerald Ryan has no doubt Snitzel is still the horse to beat in the Golden Slipper despite suffering its first defeat when a raging favourite in the Magic Millions Classic at the Gold Coast.
Snitzel, which had won three from three before finishing third in Saturday's $1 million event as a $1.50 elect, will be freshened up for the world's richest two-year-olds' race, to be run at Rosehill, after Ryan reported yesterday that the colt was in fine order.
"He pulled up really good," Ryan said after buying Snitzel's half-sister, by More Than Ready, for $350,000 on behalf of Snitzel's owner, Damion Flower, at the Magic Millions sale at the Gold Coast.
"He was a little tired, as you'd expect after the tough run that he had, but he all but cleaned out the feed bin last night."
Snitzel was forced to race at least three wide throughout the Magic Millions as the Graeme Rogerson-trained stablemates Bradbury's Luck and Al Samer raced in the lead and kept the favourite on a limb.
Bradbury's Luck went on to win the race to keep alive Rogerson's dream of winning an unprecedented treble - the Magic Millions, Blue Diamond and Golden Slipper - while Al Samer dead-heated for third with Snitzel.
"If he draws a barrier he wins the race, it's as simple as that," Ryan said of the colt's effort. "He'll push on to the Golden Slipper now and he'll be hard to beat in that. He is a horse that could even be ridden quieter, say, be in sixth or seventh and then charge home over the top of them."
Ryan said Snitzel would stay at his Gold Coast stables for the next week or so, unless the weather became too hot, to have a short break before his Golden Slipper campaign hots up.
"I won't change the trend with him," Ryan said yesterday. "I'll treat him as if he won the race on Saturday and go on with our plans.
"Whether or not he has one run before the Golden Slipper, or goes into that race fresh-up, is yet to be decided.
"The main thing is that he will be there, though."
Flower was looking to a bright future with not only Snitzel but with the filly out of Snitzel's dam, Snippets' Lass, for which he staved off a bidding challenge from Gai Waterhouse yesterday.
"Snitzel did an enormous job in the Magic Millions, it was a great run," Flower said.
"The others made him do plenty of work in the run - he didn't have much go his way but he was only beaten just over a length.
"I'm looking forward to the Golden Slipper with him now."
Flower said the More Than Ready filly was "an athletic type, but not as athletic as Snitzel". "She's very similar to him in a lot of ways so that is a good sign," he said. "Gai wanted her as well, which is a good sign, and we think she'll be a runner early on."
Ryan was happy with the purchase, which he said was priced at close to his limit. "She went at a good price but, in saying that, there is plenty of residual value in her," he said.
"As well as being related to Snitzel she's got a half-sister by Royal Academy, and Snippets' Lass is in foal again to Redoute's Choice [Snitzel's sire]."
Flower said he would race the filly with his wife, Camilla, and eventually use the horse as a breeding proposition himself.
SMH
cheesebeast
10-01-2005, 10:34
I was under the impression Snitzel dead-heated for 3rd??? STAB shows a dividend of 50c whereas NSW TAB shows $1-00??
Snitzel to light up the Canterbury sky
By Craig Young and John Schell
February 21, 2005
Impressive juvenile Snitzel will be sent out to break the curse of the Golden Slipper favourite when he returns in the Skyline Stakes at Canterbury this Saturday night.
The Breeders' Plate winner was thrust back to the top of betting for the world's richest race for two-year-olds when the John Hawkes-trained filly Mnemosyne was rolled as a hot favourite in the Kindergarten Stakes at Warwick Farm on Saturday.
Mnemosyne was installed favourite earlier last week when trainer Tim Martin's Danehill colt Gonski had his Slipper campaign aborted due to leg problems.
Snitzel's trainer, Gerald Ryan, was at the Farm on Saturday and warned Mnemosyne would improve after her first-up effort when second to Flying Pegasus, although neither juvenile seemed to worry the horseman. Snitzel hasn't started since being beaten as favourite in the Magic Millions on the Gold Coast in January. He went into the race having won three from three but was trapped off the track and the effort to finish a dead-heat third behind Bradbury's Luck was outstanding.
"He'd bounced back on the Monday morning after the Magic Millions," Ryan said on Saturday. "I've taken his blood twice and it was as good as it was when he won at Doomben."
Ryan has no doubt his horse deserves Slipper favouritism. "We've had the experience, he has had the trip away," he said. "He was aimed at the Breeders' Plate, aimed at the Magic Millions, aimed at the Golden Slipper.
"He has followed a pattern that was successful last year with Dance Hero. We've run him in the races we wanted to after the Breeders' Plate. He has been to the races four times, been under the hammer four times and responded but there are still 28 more sleeps [to the Slipper]."
Ryan dismisses the theory the latest crop of juveniles are "over rated". "I reckon they were a crack lot of yearlings last year and they are a crack group of two-year-olds," he said. "And the Magic Millions form is again strong. Of the leading [Slipper] contenders he [Snitzel] is the only two-year-old to have won three races."
Jim Cassidy is expected to be back from injury to ride Power Of Destiny for trainer Kevin Moses in the Black Opal Stakes at Canberra this Saturday and has also been booked to ride stablemate Saachi in the Canberra Guineas.
Gold Coast trainer John Wallace will start highly rated colt Jet Spur in the Black Opal after his debut fourth to Domesday and Flying Pegasus in the Silver Slipper. Corey Brown has been booked for the ride.
Hawkes is likely to have just one runner, The Rhine, in Saturday's $1 million Blue Diamond Stakes at Caulfield. Domesday remained in Sydney yesterday, despite being at the top of betting for the Blue Diamond.
Glen Boss is in for a big night at Canterbury, as he will ride Snitzel, last-start winner Snippetson - a brother to group 1 winner Snowland - in the Eskimo Prince Stakes for trainer Guy Walter, and Sydney Cup contender Don Raphael in the Canterbury Cup.
Chris Munce will combine with Gai Waterhouse in the two Canterbury two-year-olds' events, being booked to ride Happy Go Lago in the Skyline Stakes and Astronomia in the Sweet Embrace should she start following a debut third at Canterbury, where she was slow to begin.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/Horseracing/Snitzel-to-light-up-the-Canterbury-sky/2005/02/20/1108834664593.html
Boss's all-star flying task
By John Schell
February 25, 2005
A reunion with his dual Melbourne Cup-winning mount Makybe Diva and emerging sprint star Fastnet Rock at Caulfield on Saturday will act as a forerunner to jockey Glen Boss enhancing his Golden Slipper prospects when he partners Snitzel in the Skyline Stakes under lights at Canterbury that night.
Boss, who rode at Morphettville on Wednesday where he saw Alinghi's demolition of rivals in the group 1 Robert Sangster Stakes, will rack up the miles on Saturday in what he hopes will be a successful two-state assault.
"It's all up to Snitzel to perform now," Boss said this week of the Slipper favourite. "We've seen a few of the other top two-year-olds go by the wayside over the last couple of weeks, so if he can go on with the job then the confidence leading into the Slipper will grow."
Snitzel won his first three starts before dead-heating for third in the Magic Millions. "There's a few handy horses up against him on Saturday night but if he is going to win the Slipper then he should be beating them," Boss said.
Boss is banking on power-packed Newcastle sprinter Fastnet Rock showing his class in the group 1 Oakleigh Plate, a race in which the three-year-old will be burdened with topweight of 57 kilograms.
"He is weighted up to his very best but he is a big, strapping colt and he'll handle it," Boss said. "Put it this way, they'd [rivals] be more wary of me than I am of them. After all, he is the only group 1 winner in the field."
Fastnet Rock resumed from a spell to storm home and score in the Lightning Stakes over Alinghi and Cape Of Good Hope.
"The two horses that placed behind Fastnet Rock last time have both come out and won group 1s at their next starts, so that's pretty good form," Boss said. "There'll be a bit of speed on again on Saturday and that will suit Fastnet Rock. He is definitely the one to beat."
While Boss wasn't aboard Makybe Diva when she resumed with a seventh placing to Elvstroem in the Orr Stakes, he is sure she can match it with that horse in their rematch in the St George Stakes on Saturday.
"I'm really looking forward to getting back on Makybe Diva," he said. "It will be a good match-up between her and Elvstroem. They are both second-up and at a distance [1800 metres] they both like. It should be a great clash." After riding Makybe Diva and Fastnet Rock at Caulfield, Boss will fly back to Sydney where as well as Snitzel, he will partner Jymcarew in the group 1 Canterbury Guineas. He rates Jymcarew, a last-start Gosford Guineas winner, as "an outside chance".
"It doesn't seem to be a classic Canterbury Guineas field," he said. "That brings my horse into contention. There is a big rap on the Kiwi, Cheval De Troy, but they [New Zealand horses] have come over here before and failed. The main thing in his [Cheval De Troy's] favour, though, is his trainer. You've got to respect anything in the stable of Colin Jillings as he's a great trainer."
Boss was coy when asked if he had been approached to ride Alinghi in next month's Doncaster Handicap at Randwick.
"Who wouldn't want to ride her?" he asked, before adding: "There has been no offer to me to ride her yet.
"I've been chasing a couple rides in the Doncaster. Winning Belle is one and I could also ride Falkirk, but in saying that, Alinghi is a serious horse and if the opportunity arose to ride her, then it would be a nice pick-up."
Boss was to have ridden the Tony McEvoy-trained Barely A Moment in the Schweppervescence Cup at Caulfield but has had to forgo that mount with the race being scheduled later than planned. "I was told the race was going to be an early one but it's now on at 4.50pm, which wouldn't give me enough time to get back to Canterbury for the first race [6.30pm]," Boss said.
The Guy Walter-trained Shalimar Sky is Boss's mount in the opener at Canterbury, with the mare being sent out to complete a hat-trick of wins.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/Horseracing/Bosss-allstar-flying-task/2005/02/24/1109180040927.html
Ryan says Snitzel stands alone in the slipper
By Craig Young
February 27, 2005
The Sun-Herald
The curse of the Golden Slipper favourite was blown away when Snitzel sizzled in last night's Skyline Stakes.
Immediately after the comprehensive demolition by the hotpot favourite, Snitzel's meticulous trainer Gerald Ryan issued an ominous warning.
"He's still got three lengths improvement," Ryan's said.
Betting houses slashed Snitzel's quote of $4.50 for the slipper, with Bill Hurley's Sportsbook.com.au offering $3 while TAB Fixed Odds has the colt at $2.75.
In recent weeks horses installed favourite for the $3 million Golden Slipper on March 19 have gone amiss or had reputations damaged but not so Snitzel, which hadn't been seen since a superb and luckless third in the Magic Millions in January.
Not even yesterday's Blue Diamond Stakes winner Undoubtedly, the Black Opal winner Al Samer or last night's Sweet Embrace victor Carry On Cutie are causing Ryan concern.
In fact there is no two-year-old Ryan fears.
"He has been a natural all the way along," Ryan said. "He has done nothing to change my mind.
"He is the only two-year-old in Australia I think that has been dropped in at the deep end five times and responded five times."
Starting at $1.50 last night Snitzel speared out of the gate and settled second, four lengths off Kiwi speedster Dr Green, but winning jockey Glen Boss made his move at the bend.
"He did a massive job," Boss told owner Damion Flower.
"He was going to go down at the furlong but he dug deep.
"He was awesome - that was his best win."
Boss, who was in trouble earlier in the day with stewards at Caulfield over his ride on dual Melbourne Cup winner Makybe Diva (see story on Page 105), eased up on Snitzel at the end of the 1200 metres.
"I'll just keep turning him over," Ryan said.
Someone suggested it was matter of keeping Snitzel out of harm's way, to which Ryan replied, "he won't be in no cotton wool yet, he has a way to go".
Ryan reckons Snitzel has got the right attitude, the speed, and is thankful "he is not a couple of inches taller or I wouldn't have been able to buy him" as a yearling for $260,000.
Snitzel has won four of five starts and $355,640 in prizemoney.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/Horseracing/Ryan-says-Snitzel-stands-alone-in-the-slipper/2005/02/26/1109180169266.html
There's still plenty of sizzle left in Snitzel and his team
By Craig Young
February 28, 2005
The Sting
Racing is usually a complex affair - but every now and then it is served up on a platter. This time around it is a Snitzel with a bloke named Glen Boss on top.
Snitzel is a thoroughbred juvenile. This colt is prime meat of the type that satisfies punters' appetites. Boss, as the dressing, complements this most appealing dish. The chef is a trainer named Gerald Ryan, who is intent on feasting on the Golden Slipper and its $3 million booty.
This trio served it up to rivals under lights at Canterbury on Saturday night. Snitzel had not been seen since a mighty third after being stuck wide throughout in the Magic Millions in January. That ended a sequence of three wins.
Any thoughts that Snitzel's untapped desire to win had been drained were erased in the Skyline Stakes at Canterbury. Snitzel sizzled, leaving rivals to fight over the scraps.
But still there are doubting diners willing to put the knife and fork into Snitzel.
Like those out for a slice of Boss for what many perceived was a kind ride over the latter stages on Makybe Diva in Saturday's St George Stakes at Caulfield.
Racing stewards down south have adjourned an inquiry. They are entitled to ask questions but Boss will serve it up to them on a sectional times tray.
The clock had the mare, considered the best of her sex in the world at and beyond 2400 metres, running the last 800m of the 1800m St George in 45.04 seconds. The last 400m in 22.21s. That's fast.
Makybe Diva was beaten a short head into second place but it must be mentioned that the winner, Elvstroem, has claims on being the best racehorse in this part of the world.
"They [stewards] don't take into account that I rode her two lengths closer than anyone would have expected throughout the race," Boss was quoted as saying in a Melbourne newspaper.
Surely no one expected Boss to punish Makybe Diva to the extreme when that sort of action has never been required on her in the past. This jockey knows the mare like few others. The sectionals suggest she couldn't have gone much quicker.
Anyway, Boss will provide his answers to stewards with conviction. Anyone doubting him had better look at the record.
Some say he could win on a rocking horse if the race was a feature event. Boss has become the jockey for the carnivals.
Just look at Saturday. Two races after the St George, Boss claimed yet another group 1, the Oakleigh Plate on Britain-bound hulk Fastnet Rock. This colt is another class act.
Boss jumped in the helicopter at Caulfield and went to the airport for a flight to Sydney. He missed the first race at Canterbury but it didn't stop him winning three races there, including the group 1 Canterbury Guineas on Jymcarew. A major race double in two states, how good is that?
The pillaging is set to continue with Snitzel. In a season when two-year-olds have let down supporters after promising the world, Snitzel has been a constant.
"He's still got three lengths' improvement," Ryan warned. "He is the only two-year-old in Australia, I think, that has been dropped in at the deep end five times and responded five times."
Snitzel will not race again before the Golden Slipper on March 19. Ryan has followed the path blazed by the record-maker Dance Hero last year. He isn't about to complicate matters, he is sticking to the game plan.
It was devised in the middle of last year and Snitzel has given him no cause for concern. Ryan will dine out in style.
cyoung@access.fairfax.com.au
Ryan wants side dish for Snitzel
By Craig Young
March 12, 2005
Trainer Gerald Ryan, not content with having the Golden Slipper favourite in Snitzel, wants a back-up for next Saturday's dash for $3 million in cash.
The horseman has a couple of two-year-olds engaged at Rosehill today but only one, Shanambah, is given any chance of progressing to next week's juveniles' championship event.
"If she happened to win or run second tomorrow she'll go straight into the Slipper," Ryan said yesterday. "She'd need all the luck in the world in the Slipper but if she earns a start she'll have a crack.
"She has taken everything thrown at her. She got a soft lead the other day at Rosehill and won quite well without being hammered.
"What I like about her is she has worked with the older, open-class horses. If a two-year-old can work with older horses and beat them, generally they'll measure up."
Shanambah, which has won two and been placed twice from four starts, lines up in today's Magic Night Stakes, while stablemate Seek The Truth runs in the Pago Pago Stakes.
"He [Seek The Truth] is a horse with ability but it might be happening a bit soon, he might be a preparation away [from his best form]," Ryan said. "Even if he won tomorrow he won't run in the Golden Slipper, he'd go to the [AJC] Sires' Produce or the paddock."
Ryan expects Seek The Truth to perform better than he did on debut when fourth at Gosford.
"When he got to the front he got lost," he said. "All he wanted to do was run to the outside fence. I whacked a pair of blinkers on and he trialled quite nice in them last Friday."
In the opening event today, Ryan will start the stable's new arrival Tirade, which was formerly with Mathew Ellerton at Flemington. The form guides show the three-year-old beat home the outstanding Fastnet Rock on two occasions last spring.
Ryan said Tirade's owner, David Moodie, felt "a change of environment, a change of direction" may well "help him find form again".
"He has only been here 10 days and I haven't done much with him," he said. "He came up fit, he is a nice horse, he hasn't turned a hair. He has adapted to this [clockwise] way of going on the training track really well. He'll run a race tomorrow. Horses don't travel interstate, settle in and do as well as he has and go to the races and run a bad race."
Ryan believes that should Tirade strike his spring form, "he'd give these a hurry-up even with 58.5 kilograms on his back".
In the final event Ryan has Striking Victory resuming, with the gelding having won two from three previous first-up runs, while he'll also start former Hong Kong galloper Xlerate.
"Striking Victory is a very good horse fresh," Ryan said. "He is a good horse in his class and he has come back nice. The faster they go up front the better he'll like it."
As for Xlerate, the horse is returning from a tendon injury, with Ryan reporting the gelding had enjoyed a "real good grounding" in preparation for a return.
"He trialled a lot better than I thought he would, looking at the videos from Hong Kong," he said. "He could develop into a nice horse if he can transform what he has shown on the [training] track and in trials."
Ryan reported Snitzel had done nothing but please in his Rosehill stable and the juvenile was ready to round off preparations for the Golden Slipper with a solid work-out on Tuesday morning. "There have been no dramas with him at all," he said. "I'm happy."
Search for the fast lane
March 18, 2005
Golden Slipper favourite Snitzel's wide barrier may work in his favour, reports Craig Young.
If Robbie Waterhouse is right, the big-punting owner of Golden Slipper favourite Snitzel is unlikely to back the colt again in Saturday's $3 million showcase.
Damion Flower, who paid $260,000 for the son of sire sensation Redoute's Choice, has already backed the youngster to win more than $200,000.
"Snitzel has blown in the betting this week because of his barrier [12] and quite rightly so," Waterhouse said on Thursday. "Usually it is a disadvantage but if the track plays to wide runners he comes right back into it, his disadvantage disappears. If they get more rain, the outside part of the track will be very much an advantage.
"I've gone back over the last six months and it [the track] has shown a tendency to deteriorate as the day goes on. I don't say it is diabolically bad, but it's at least two lengths worse on the inside."
Flower, who has a marquee for 50 family members and friends awaiting at Rosehill on Saturday, is regarded as one of Sydney's biggest punters and an astute form student. He has had a bet of $50,000 on Snitzel at $4 and "agrees totally" with Waterhouse's comments.
Waterhouse and Flower have no doubt the rain and the moveable rail being 4m out will ensure horses get off the Rosehill fence, as has been the case on the past two Saturdays.
"There will be six races before the Golden Slipper and they'll be cutting up the inside section of the track," Flower said. "A pattern has developed, horses are winning by coming out wide or spilling off the fence, coming across behind three or four horses and then going bang."
Should the track play as Waterhouse predicts, the bookmaker is convinced Snitzel will be a big firmer on race day.
"The owner of Snitzel is a man not frightened to back his opinion and he is a very successful punter," he said.
Waterhouse will be watching the lead-up races to the world's richest two-year-olds' race, keeping a close eye on champion jockey Darren Beadman, who rides Mnemosyne in the Slipper.
"D Beadman excels on biased tracks," Waterhouse said. "He is on his own in finding the best part of the track, I'll be watching him very closely, as I always do."
Beadman didn't think the Rosehill track played too badly last Saturday, which wasn't the case a week earlier. "That track was a bit softish and horses were definitely working better in the middle of the track," he said.
"It is certainly not the wider the better. There is definitely a strip there, it is a matter of finding the fast lane.
"You can't go in with your eyes closed, you've got to read the play."
Flower's confidence of claiming the juveniles' championship race is boosted knowing the carnival king Glen Boss is on board the Gerald Ryan-trained Snitzel.
"I'll be leaving it to Glen but I know we'll be looking for the fast lane," Flower said. "And I'm not afraid of sitting back, letting him come over the top of them, it wouldn't faze me at all.
"He is a better chaser anyway, look at his Canterbury win in the Skyline. I know they went real fast, but the horse loved chasing and it was the same when he won at Doomben."
One thing Flower is certain about is Snitzel cannot sit three and four wide without cover and win, for the youngster wasn't able to do it in the Magic Millions in January. "That's 100 per cent," he said. "Glen knows it, I know it and Gerald knows it. So we won't be posted wide, I know that."
Having had a glance at the form, Flower said all the speed was "drawn in barrier one [Dr Green], two [Seidnazar] and three [Fashions Afield]".
"If they neck Dr Green back, Fashions Afield is going to get to the front," he said. "And she kicks, too, she's got a bit of fight in her."
But the track may well prove a pitfall for Fashions Afield, with Flower warning Media, which has drawn immediately inside Snitzel, should not be overlooked. "Everyone underestimates [trainer] Bob Thomsen's horse Media," Flower said. "She won the Gimcrack on a track that had the sting out of it. The pace should be on and she'll finish it off."
Asked if the betting on Snitzel was over, Flower, who has also placed a wager on the colt for Ryan's staff, was straight to the point.
"If they [bookmakers] test me, throw up a ridiculous price, I'll be into them again," he said. "If they dangle that carrot, I'll be pretty quick to bite."
http://www.smh.com.au/news/Horseracing/Search-for-the-fast-lane/2005/03/17/1110913737483.html
cheesebeast
23-04-2005, 12:09
HOT PROPERTY: Boom :eek: two-year-old Snitzel is the subject of multimillion-dollar bids as a stallion proposition.
Negotiations took place this week with a Victorian-based consortium which wanted to buy Snitzel with a view to racing the beaten Golden Slipper favourite before retiring him to stud.
However, owner Damion Flower, who was unavailable for comment, has always maintained he isn't keen for Snitzel to race in Australia in different ownership.
But international interest in Snitzel, a son of star sire Redoute's Choice, may pave the way for a stud deal to still go ahead.
Full speed ahead to Manikato for Ryan and Snitzel
By Craig Young
August 21, 2005
The Sun-Herald
Astute horseman Gerald Ryan asserted the trainer's influence and Snitzel responded when leading throughout to win the Up And Coming Stakes yesterday
.
The $4 million colt is now off to Melbourne for the group 1 Manikato Stakes at Moonee Valley in three weeks' time while the runner-up Stratum is heading towards the Caulfield Guineas on October 8.
The sons of sire sensation Redoute's Choice dominated betting on the group 3 event yesterday, with punters sending them out $2.30 equal favourites, but Ryan made sure Snitzel was going to be the dictator.
"I had my way today," Ryan said.
"The plan was to definitely lead, the other day there was all this speed but none today.
"His best asset is his speed, why not use it?"
Ryan went into the race extremely confident about Snitzel returning to the winner's circle but admitted to being "relieved" when the horse produced under race-day pressure.
Just when Snitzel heads south for the weight-for-age Manikato sprint remains to be seen.
"It will depend on the weather," Ryan said."I'd like to get him down there to have a look at Moonee Valley but if it remains cold like it was this week, I'll keep him here and go down late."
The trainer went within a long neck of quinellaing the event with the Western Australian Sires' Produce winner Denmarket ($31) not surprising Ryan when nudging out the Silver Slipper Stakes winner Domesday for third place.
It was the first time Denmarket had stepped out under Ryan. "He'll go to the Heritage, then the Stan Fox and I'll look at the Caulfield Guineas with him now," the trainer said.
Glen Boss said there were "no excuses" for the Golden Slipper winner Stratum, which the jockey believed wouldn't be beaten again this time in after a first-up fourth in the San Domenico Stakes a fortnight ago.
"The winner was too good," Boss said.
Boss believes trainer Paul Perry may consider fitting Stratum with a set of blinkers next time around for the ace jockey believes "it might just get him focused a bit better".
http://www.smh.com.au/news/horseracing/full-speed-ahead-to-manikato-for-ryan-and-snitzel/2005/08/20/1124435183222.html
Snitzel sizzles in lead-up to Manikato
By Andrew Eddy
September 7, 2005
http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2005/09/06/pt_7s_snitz_ent-lead__200x196.jpg
Scott Seamer and Snitzel get the feel of Moonee Valley yesterday before Saturday's Manikato Stakes.
Photo: Vince Caligiuri
SYDNEY'S best colt, Snitzel, yesterday turned in a winning gallop at his first look at Moonee Valley before Saturday's group 1 Manikato Stakes, but his trainer Gerald Ryan was not getting carried away. "We've been through this before. These races are just so hard to win," he said.
Ryan was talking from recent experience. Twice already this year poor luck has seen Snitzel beaten and those defeats came in the two most important races he has contested — the Magic Millions on the Gold Coast in January and the Golden Slipper Stakes at Rosehill in March.
In the Magic Millions, the colt endured a horror run from a wide gate, and in Sydney he hit his head in the barrier and was dazed during the race.
"He probably shouldn't have run in the Golden Slipper after what happened in the barriers," Ryan said. "You can still see the mark on his nose.
"But that's history. That happens. You just hope it doesn't happen in one of these big races. It takes a lot of time and planning to get them there and it can go wrong so quickly, so easily."
Along with the right sort of luck, Ryan knows that he must present a fit and fast horse on Saturday before he can even think about winning the first group 1 race of the season.
To that end, he was more than content yesterday morning after Snitzel galloped alongside group 1-winning mare Glamour Puss for about 1000 metres, before surging away in the final 200 metres.
"I'm very happy with the way he's going. We've had this race in mind for him for a long time and he'll be ready for it," Ryan said.
Snitzel, who is now part-owned by Arrowfield Stud where he will eventually stand as a stallion, has raced eight times for five wins, but such has been the hype since the Redoute's Choice colt first trialled in public at Warwick Farm last September that he has started favourite at all of his starts. And he will challenge for favourtism on Saturday as he and fellow three-year-olds Danerich and Perfectly Ready take on the older sprinters.
Ryan said he was not worried about Snitzel handling the Valley track but appreciated the chance to give the horse a "sighter". "He's had eight races and raced on seven different tracks so that was never going to worry me with this horse, but it is nice to let them go around."
Snitzel was not the only one to benefit from yesterday's gallop as his jockey Scott Seamer had never ridden trackwork at Moonee Valley. "We both had a good look around," Seamer said. "He went well. He handled it without any worries."
Other notables at the Valley were the Bart Cummings' cups pair, Accumulate and Frightening, who galloped strongly together in preparation for Saturday's group 2 1600-metre weight-for-age race, which has been named after their owner Dato Tan Chin Nam.
Track rider Joe Agresta reported that Frightening, who injured a tendon after winning the Moonee Valley Cup two years ago, was making good progress in his comeback.
The fastest 600 metres was run by Tony Noonan's mare Emlozza, who will not be among the favourites in the Manikato. But it was only four years ago that Noonan produced another mare, Piavonic, at odds of $21 to win the Manikato. Among her scalps was Sunline.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/horse-racing/snitzel-sizzles-in-leadup-to-manikato/2005/09/06/1125772522703.html
Ryan eyes US with Snitzel
By Patrick Bartley, Caulfield
February 26, 2006
TRAINER Gerald Ryan might use the Oakleigh Plate victory by Snitzel yesterday as a launching pad to an international phase in the colt's career.
The group 1 success prompted Ryan to reveal he harboured a long-held desire to campaign a sprinter in the US and believes this is the horse most suited.
But Ryan has to work out more immediate goals for the valuable stallion. Options include running in the Newmarket Handicap (1200m) at Flemington next month or to go back to Sydney for rich autumn carnival sprints.
Snitzel ($11) led all the way to win the group 1 handicap by 1 lengths from $2.40 favourite Virage De Fortune, with Takeover Target, a drifter from $3.50 to $6, 2 lengths back in third place.
The win was some compensation for part-owner John Messara and his partners at NSW stud Arrowfield. They had earlier finished second in the Blue Diamond Stakes with Miss Finland.
But the day was a major triumph for their stallion Redoute's Choice, which sired the winners of both group 1races.
The Oakleigh Plate victory was the second group 1triumph in a fortnight for jockey Craig Newitt. He won the Orr Stakes on Perfect Promise earlier in the month.
Newitt had been disappointed with Snitzel's previous effort in the Lightning Stakes but was full of praise for the colt yesterday.
"He's a real little bulldog," the jockey said. "He had his flippers on and swum right through it today.
"I gave him a dig on the corner and he responded and I gave him another inside the 200 and he found again."
Early in the week, the Snitzel camp had been most vocal about the horse's handicap in comparison to Virage De Fortune and Takeover Target, but it was case of weep and you win.
Jockey Steven King, who rode the runner-up, was stunned by the ease of Snitzel's domination of his mount.
"I was shocked on the turn when Snitzel had me off the bit," King said.
"She handles the wet but I'm not convinced the heavy conditions today really suited her."
It was a similar story from Jay Ford on third placegetter Takeover Target.
"He never really handled it. He was all at sea on the corner," Ford said.
http://smh.com.au/news/horseracing/ryan-eyes-us-with-snitzel/2006/02/25/1140670301630.html
Choice as Redoute's progeny shine like diamonds to make Messara's day
By John Holloway
March 3, 2006
BLOODLINES
ARROWFIELD boss John Messara had a day of days at a soggy Caulfield last Saturday, with the stud's Redoute's Choice supplying the Blue Diamond quinella with Nadeem and Miss Finland, and Snitzel taking out the group 1 Oakleigh Plate to bolster his future stud career. But his day might have been even better.
http://www.thoroughbrednews.co.nz/imgmgr/imagefiles/snitze_oakleigh1-31453.jpg
Messara part-owns Miss Finland with leading Arrowfield clients Alan Jones and John Leaver, and the stud has a 25 per cent share in Snitzel.
But Messara revealed that he had been the underbidder on Nadeem, which was sold to one of the world's biggest bloodstock buyers, Angus Gold, on behalf of Shadwell Stud, for $700,000.
"Naturally, everyone was thrilled with the result, and it was over a few drinks that Gold told us he had been the under-bidder on Miss Finland, which sold for $450,000," Messara said.
http://www.thoroughbrednews.co.nz/imgmgr/imagefiles/snitzel_oakleight2-61940.jpg
Snitzel well clear and heading to the winning post 1 3/4L clear, picture Martin King, www.sportpix.com.au.
"And then I retaliated by telling the bloodstock agent how we had run second in trying to buy Nadeem, whose prizewinnings now amount to $728,500 following his Blue Diamond victory.
"But Miss Finland is doing everything right and from three starts her earnings are up to $254,300 and she does look likely to recoup her initial cost, plus having an enormous future as a broodmare."
Arrowfield bought a 25 per cent share in Snitzel last spring for a reported $7 million, with Messara syndicating him to several major breeders.
http://smh.com.au/news/horseracing/choice-as-redoutes-progeny-shine-like-diamonds-to-make-messarasday/2006/03/02/1141191790632.html
Snitzel equal to Challenge
By John Schell
April 3, 2006
OAKLEIGH Plate-winning sprinter Snitzel returned to home territory yesterday to dish out a galloping lesson to his older rivals in winning the Challenge Stakes at Warwick Farm.
A runaway 1¼-length win over seasoned group 1 performer Spark Of Life, with Media third, prompted winning trainer Gerald Ryan to declare his charge "the best sprinting three-year-old in Australia".
"That was his first weight-for-age win and the first time he has won over 1000 metres since he won the Breeders' Plate at his first start in a race," a delighted Ryan said.
Snitzel was ridden by emerging top-line jockey Craig Newitt yesterday and Ryan is awaiting the handicaps to be released for the group 1 The Galaxy, at Randwick on April 19, although the trainer said the TJ Smith Stakes at the same track on April 15, again at weight-for-age, might be the favoured option.
"There is still improvement in this horse," Ryan warned. "I haven't really asked him to do that much since he returned to Sydney from his Melbourne campaign, and he has still come out today and done this to some pretty smart rivals."
Ryan said he would consider backing up Snitzel in the All Aged Stakes over 1400m at Randwick on April 22 following the TJ Smith, while he is eyeing a trip to Hong Kong in December for the International Sprint at Sha Tin.
Meanwhile, Newitt has been placed on stand-by to ride the John O'Shea-trained colt Primus should it contest the Doncaster Handicap.
However, O'Shea said he was still favouring pushing on to the AJC Australian Derby after Primus's luckless third in Saturday's Rosehill Guineas, in which jockey Glen Boss blamed himself for the defeat after sitting wide.
Boss, who will ride the Graeme Rogerson-trained Sepia in this Saturday's Tulloch Stakes at Rosehill, may yet retain the ride on Primus in the derby, with O'Shea saying: "Who else can you put on? The luck has got to go our way sooner or later."
http://smh.com.au/news/horseracing/snitzel-equal-to-challenge/2006/04/02/1143916409870.html
story posted Monday 24th April 2006 01:25
SNITZEL fee set
Unplaced at his most recent appearance in the All Aged Stakes (gr 1) at Randwick, Snitzel has been retired.
He goes to stud at Arrowfield with seven wins and four placings from 15 starts and prizemoney of $1,033,550. Highlights a win in the Oakleigh Plate (Gr 1) at Caulfield in February and wins in the Challenge Stakes (Gr 2), Up And Coming Stakes (Gr 3), and Skyline Stakes (Gr 3). He was also placed in the Newmarket Handicap (Gr 1)and TJ Smith Stakes (Gr 1).
http://www.thoroughbredinternet.com/newsmore.html?Id=9514
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