A remarkable week for Arrowfield Stud just got a whole lot better when their homebred Snitzel colt Remarque put himself in the mix for the Golden Slipper following a dramatic win on debut at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday.
Ridden hard in the early stages by Tommy Berry to take up a prominent position from an outside barrier, Remarque was left in from a long way from home when the leader Hollywood Gossip began to capitulate shortly after turning or home.
In a worrying moment, Remarque began to hang out when Berry went for him. Once straightened up the Michael, Wayne and John Hawkes-trained colt comfortably held the challenge of Godolphin’s powerfully made Exceed And Excel colt Zethus by two lengths with a further one and a quarter lengths back to the Your Song colt Sing A Love Song back in third.
A glorious looking bay built in the mould of his sire, Remarque will attempt to emulate his sister Estijaab in the Golden Slipper.
“It was a lovely effort first time out, he had to do it both ends,” Michael Hawkes said.
“He probably got to the front too soon, the leader dropped off so he had to do all the donkey work. He wanted to shy at the signboards but he is a horse with a lot of talent and you can’t ask for more for a horse on debut.
“He had two good trials but trials are completely different to raceday. There is a lot of hype on the horse but today was more about getting the horse in the right frame of mind.
“He has a lot of upside. He is a beautiful colt, very relaxed and paraded well.”
Tommy Berry agreed that there is plenty of upside for the royall bred colt.
“He did everything right up until the straight. He jumped well but I had to use him up in the first half,” Berry said.
“I was quite pleased the way he relaxed when I asked him too, he came back underneath me and we got an easy sectional before the home turn.
“I got to the lead too easily, too early. When he saw the big screen on the inside ho got a little bit lost but that just showed he has plenty of upside. Hopefully he can draw a gate next time and ride him from behind because we know he is much better doing that.
“He has such a big set of lungs. When he pulled up he was hardly blowing.”
Remarque races for his breeders Arrowfield Stud and Katsumi Yoshida.
The son of Snitzel is the fourth winner for his dam, the Charge Forward mare Response who was bred by Freer Pty Ltd and Andrew and Lasca Bowcock. Response was purchased by Barry Griffiths for $50,000 from the Alanbridge Stud draft at Session II of the 2008 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.
She went on to win four races for Mathew Ellerton and Simon Zahra, three of those came in stakes races highlighted by the Group I Sangster Stakes and Group 1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes.
Response was consigned to the 2015 National Broodmare Sale where she was purchased by Katsumi Yoshida for $1.5 million.
She was carrying the $1.7 million filly Estijaab at the time of her sale and she had an Exceed And Excel colt named De Gaulle who was destined never to race.
At the 2019 Magic Millions, Linda Huddy’s Peachester Lodge purchased a Snitzel filly out of Response for $575,000.
Named Snappy Reply and sent to Tony Gollan, the 3yo Snitzel filly won at the Sunshine Coast on debut before twice finishing second at Doomben and has not been seen since April last year.
Sadly, Response lost her Snitzel filly foal in 2019 but has colt foal by him and is back in foal to the 4-time champion sire of Australia.
