Ryan continuing to share in the Snitzel success story

Written by Paul Vettise

Gerald Ryan guided Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice) to Group 1 glory on the track before retirement and celebrity status at stud. The Rosehill trainer has subsequently enjoyed high level success with his progeny, but he has seen little in them to visually remind him of their star sire.

“I’ve had a few good ones and most of them look like their maternal sires,” said Ryan, who has sent out more than a century of winners by Snitzel.

Arrowfield Stud’s champion stallion has so far produced 13 individual Group 1 winners and Ryan has trained two of them – Trapeze Artist and Snitzerland.

Triple Group 1 winner

Trapeze Artist is the most prolific in the elite grade of Snitzel’s sons with victories in the TJ Smith S., the Golden Rose S., the All Aged S., on his record.

He recently opened his spring campaign when third in the G2 Theo Marks S., with his target the $13 million The Everest, following an early autumn between owner Bert Vieira and slot-holder Aquis Farm.

“He looks well and he’s going well,” Ryan said. “His first-up run was very good and he’ll run in the Premiere S., before the Everest.

“He’s not a good worker so it’s not easy to get a line on him. If you worked him with maidens they’d beat him, but he’s fit and feeling good in himself.”

Ryan also prepared Snitzerland to win the G1 Lightning H., G2 Danehill S., and in the Challenge S.

“She was a good filly and ran second in the Golden Slipper,” Ryan said. “I’ve had a few good Snitzels, I had Hot Snitzel early on, Flying Snitzel and Spill The Beans.”

The former won the G2 Royal Sovereign S., and the G2 Sires’ Produce S., and subsequently the G1 BTC Cup when in the care of Peter and Paul Snowden.

He also guided the career of the brilliant Menari before injury saw him retired to Newgate, where he is standing his first season. He won three of his eight starts, including the G2 The Run To The Rose and ran third in the G1 Golden Rose. He was locked in for The Everest by slot-holders Neil Werrett and Max Whitby before injuring a tendon.

Named for a nickname

Ryan and long-time stable client Damion Flower purchased Snitzel at the 2004 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale for $260,000.

“I never thought it would have got to this, never. You obviously pick a horse as a yearling, named him after my nickname, he came out and he was a Magic Millions favourite and ran third. He then notched that Group 1 win as a 3-year-old and got to stud, standing at $200,000.

“Not in my wildest dreams would I be thinking he’d be topping the stallion roster in Australia. I’ve raced a lot of his progeny and I’ve had great success. I’m bewildered that it got this far, it’s just amazing really.”

Snitzel won his first General Sires’ Premiership in 2017 with all-time record Australian earnings of $16.2 million, joining Danehill (USA) and Redoute’s Choice to complete Australia’s only three-generation sequence of champion sires.

The 2 and 3-year-old premierships belonged to him too, and he headed all three lists by winners, stakes winners and stakes wins. Snitzel’s 2016-17 tally of 26 Australian stakes winners equalled Danehill’s record and his tally of 35 juvenile winners is a new mark.

World-class strike rate

His stakes winners to runners strike rate are a world-class 10.8 per cent and his progeny earnings have topped $114 million.

Snitzel’s mother Snippets Lass (Snippets) was no slouch and won seven races, two at Listed level, and also left the ill-fated G3 Skyline S., winner Hinchinbrook (Fastnet Rock).

He was crowned Australia's champion first-season sire of 2014-15 and has produced 14 individual stakes winners, including the Group 1 winners Press Statement and Seabrook.

Hinchinbrook stood at Yarraman Park Stud where he suffered a broken hind leg earlier this year in an incident on the walking machine.