Son of unwanted mare pioneered Gold Coast excellence.
2019 The Star Gold Coast Magic Millions
Son of unwanted mare pioneered Gold Coast excellence.
Back in 1984 on the advice of an ‘expert’ that she wasn’t good enough for them, two leading Sydney racing identities, Bob Logan and Bob Lapointe, discarded a mare by the name of Easy Date who had been impregnated at the Widden stud the previous season by their imported brilliant sire Lunchtime, selling her for $5,000 at an Inglis Scone sale.
A winner of one minor race, this daughter of the Northern Dancer sire Grand Chaudiere (stood Lyndhurst Stud, Warwick, Qld) was purchased by Barry Gamer, a Newcastle car dealer and stud owner, but before she dropped the Lunchtime foal, a colt born November 1, she had been transferred to John Augustine, Gregadoo Stud, Victoria.
Augustine became the colt’s breeder and he took it to the inaugural new spectacularly located and bonused yearling sale at the Gold Coast. Launched under the name of Magic Millions in January 1986, it offered the opportunity to compete 12 months later in a million dollar race open only to graduates of their sales.
There were only 200 yearlings in the first catalogue, only a handful of which represented Hunter Valley studs, but this did not stop the Lunchtime colt, one knocked down at the sale for $20,000, coming out under the name of Snippets and challenging as one of the best performers of his generation.
In becoming the first of a multitude of Gold Coast graduates who have earned in excess of $1million, Snippets included among nine wins in fourteen starts the inaugural Magic Millions, the Sires’ Produce Stakes,The Galaxy and Challenge Stakes in Sydney and the Oakleigh Plate in Melbourne.
He was runner up in Melbourne in the Lightning and at two in Sydney finished fifth in the Golden Slipper. Prince Anton, another graduate of the Gold Coast sale, ran sixth.
It turned out that there was nothing freakish about emergence of Snippets as a good performer from Easy Date as she went on to become a very successful broodmare, supplying eleven winners, including three others successful in stakes, Quick Score, Asawir and True Blonde, and stakes placed Singles Bar and Natural is My Name.
All told, Easy Date is now ancestress of nearly thirty stakes winners, the others including Group1 performers Ertijaal (in South Africa won Cape Derby), Rewaaya (won MRC Sir Rupert Clarke), Sense of Occasion (won BTC Doomben Cup), Forensics (won STC Golden Slipper, Queen of the Turf, VRC Myer Classic), Zizou (second STC Golden Sipper, MRC Blue Diamond), Oohood (won ATC Flight Stakes, second ATC Golden Slipper, Sires’ Produce Stakes) and Mushreq (second South Africa Greyville Golden Horseshoe).
In addition she appears in hundreds of pedigrees of good horses through descendants of her son Snippets and grandson Not a Single Doubt. Like Snippets, seventeen years younger Not a Single Doubt graduated out of the Gold Coast catalogue and has provided major winners at their sales.
Not a Single Doubt stands at the Arrowfield Stud, the one who hosted Snippets for most of his sire career, one that regrettably came to an end with his death at only 17 on January 2002. His own progeny included 601 winners (79.9% of his starters) of 2330 races and earners of $76million.
His best sire son has been Pins, a Group1 winner and first class source of winners from use in New Zealand who died at 21 in April 2018. So far his stock have included 730 winners (76 SWs) of 2429 races and over $90million.
Snippets has been an exceptional broodmare sire with their offspring including over 1148 winners (89 SWs) of 3800 races and $116million. Fourteen Group1 winners are Snitzel, Magnus, Wanted, Red Tracer, Merchant Navy, Fiveandahalfstar, Bel Sprinter, Shellscrape, Overreach, Unearthly, Crystal Lily, Romantic Touch, Boom Time and Marju Snip.
Among their Group1 placegetters have been Hinchinbrook and Scandinavia, dam of Magnus and grandam of Black Caviar, All Too Hard and Mosche.
Overall, Snippets appears a very good name to have in a pedigree. It is one that can be found in abundance at 2019 Australian yearling sales, commencing with big representation in January at the Gold Coast in the sale at which he became the first of hundreds of graduates who have raced well and went onto make contributions as sires or broodmares.
The quality that appears at this sale, Australia’s biggest yearling market, is underlined by the careers of many of the performers who have won the 37 runnings of the Magic Millions 2YO Classic, a race currently carrying $2.5million (including $500,000 racing women’s bonus) $5,000 value trophies, plus $3,000 trophies for women owned horse.
The 2YO Classic winners since Snippets have included Brave Warrior (1994, price $22,000), General Nediym (1997, $20,000), Testa Rossa (1999, $45,000), Lovely Jubbly (2002, $36,000), Regimental Gal (2003, $16,000, by General Nediym), Dance Hero (2004, $90,000), Bradbury’s Luck (2005, $225,000), Military Rose (2010, $155,000, by General Nediym), Unencumbered (2014, $70,000, by Testa Rossa) and Sunlight ($2018, 300,000).
Earner to date of over $3million, successful in eight of 12 starts, including the Magic Millions, ATC Silver Slipper and VRC Coolmore and a Golden Slipper third, the filly Sunlight is a great advertisement for buying at the Gold Coast in January. Her sire Zoustar, a Golden Rose winner and $1.4million earner, sold there for $140,000, and her dam Solar Charged was by a $100,000 Millions graduate, Charge Forward, who picked up over $1.2million at the races. He won the Galaxy, San Domenico,Todman Slipper Trial and Breeders’ Plate, finished second in the Golden Slipper and third in the Magic Millions 2YO Classic.
Among the sources of Snippets in the1122 lots 2019 Gold Coast catalogue are offspring of Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice – Snippet’s Lass, by Snippets) (46 lots) and his sons Sizzling (10), Spill the Beans (7 first crop) and Wandjina (20, oldest 2). Sire sons of Snippets mares represented are Hinchinbrook (Fastnet Rock) (27), Magnus (Flying Spur) (4) and Outreach (Exceed and Excel) (5, first crop). Rich Enuff, a son of Written Tycoon and a mare by Spartacus, a Snippets treble Group1 winner, supplies 11 lots and another new sire, the Hinchinbrook Caulfield Guineas winner Press Statement has 15.
In addition, All Too Hard (29 lots) and Not a Single Doubt (30), add substantially to the sources of Snippets available at the sale.The catalogue includes about half a dozen lots doubling up Snippets and a dozen his dam Easy Date.
Gold Coast source of greatest money earners
The huge honour board for superior racehorses produced by the annual Magic Millions yearling sales held at the Gold Coast is headed by the two highest money earners in Australian history, Winx (mare by Street Cry; raised and sold for client by Coolmore for $230,000 to Magic Bloodstock, Sydney) $22,934,924 and Redzel (gelding by Snitzel, sold through Marquee Stud, Willow Tree, NSW, $120,000 to Triple Crown Syndications, Sydney) $15,397,000.
As he is deceased, there are no yearlings by Street Cry in the 2019 catalogue, but Redzel’s sire Snitzel has 46. Himself a Gold Coast graduate, Snitzel is one of 39 sires represented by ten or more lots.
The others are I Am Invincible (61), Written Tycoon (53), Zoustar (51), Sebring (42), Deep Field (41), Pride of Dubai (35), Vancouver (35), Pierro (32), Not a Single Doubt (30), All Too Hard (29), More Than Ready (USA) (29), Hinchinbrook (27), Dissident (26), Star Witness (26), Exosphere (24), So You Think (21), Nicconi (21), Fastnet Rock (20), Smart Missile (20), Wandjina (20), Choisir (19), Exceed and Excel (19), Real Impact (Jpn) (19), Redoute’s Choice (19), Headwater (17), Spirit of Boom (17), Brazen Beau (16), Rubick (16), Super One (16), Press Statement (15), Dundeel (14), Scissor Kick (12), Kermadek (11), Rich Enuff (11), Savabeel (11), Shooting to Win (11) and Sizzling (10).
I Am Invincible Australia’s best sire
Although Arrowfield Stud’s ruling champion sire Snitzel (2002, Redoute’s Choice) holds the position for 2018-19 by a clear margin of over $5million from his nearest rival, Yarraman Park Stud’s I Am Invincible, the latter has good reasons to be considered the best sire in Australia for the racing year to date.
At December 24 I Am Invincible, a 2004 foal sired in Victoria by visiting Green Desert (Danzig) sire Invincible Spirit, had been represented in Australia since August 1 by 112 winners (19 SWs) of 147 races and $8,028,415. He is the most successful sire by winners, stakes winners, race wins and percentage of winners to runners, and leads the juveniles by earnings, winners, stakes winners, wins and money.
I Am Invincible would be above Snitzel on the national sires list by earnings if this great sire had not benefited from his son Redzel’s $6,549,000 for winning the Everest at Randwick.
Snitzel’s statistics at December 24 for 2018-19 were 77 winners (6 SWs), 103 wins and $13,275,430. He shares with I Am Invincible the distinction of being one of four sires who have already wracked up over 100 wins for the year. The others are Smart Missile (2008, Fastnet Rock; 71 winners (3 SWs), 101 wins, $3,484,545) and Written Tycoon (2002, Iglesia; 81 winners (2), 103 wins, $3,450,537).
The most successful sires by percentage of winners (10 or more) to runners are I Am Invincible 46.1%, Zoustar (2010, Northern Meteor) 43.5%, Your Song (2009, Fastnet Rock) 42.7%, Choisir (1999, Danehill Dancer) 40.5%, Poet’s Voice (GB) (2007,Dubawi) 40.2% and Smart Missile 40.1%.
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