Snitzel leads the way

With the season entering the championship phase Snitzel heads all categories on the Australian General Sires' list.

The Arrowfield-based stallion leads by earnings, winners and stakes winners and the quantity is amply backed up with quality as Snitzel also leads by percentage of stakes winners to runners.

To date Snitzel has 21 stakes winners this season from 277 runners at a strike-rate of 7.58 percent covering racing from the weekend with figures from Arion.

Prairie Fire (pictured) became the latest when giving his sire his third consecutive winner of last Saturday's Listed Talindert Stakes at Flemington and will be given his chance to become the 13th Group I winner for his sire in this Saturday's Blue Diamond Stakes at Caulfield.

Pierro has confirmed the promise of his first-crop by sitting second on the list with a strike-rate of 5.95 percent.

From 84 runners this season Pierro has sired the Group I VRC Oaks winner Pinot and Group III winners Pierata and Levendi and overall has nine stakes horses from 101 runners.

Teofilo sits third on the list with he and Pierro the only stallions to occupy places with less than 100 runners.

Group I winners Humidor and Happy Clapper lead the way for their sire who has covered the last two seasons again at Darley Kelvinside after having a three-year break from shuttling.

Lope de Vega no longer shuttles to Australia which is a pity as the Prix du Jockey-Club and Poule d'Essai des Poulains winner has done a solid job from 338 foals conceived in Australia in four seasons from 2011 to 2014.

Saturday's Group II Apollo Stakes winner Endless Drama is an import and bred on the same Danzig cross as Lope de Vega Group I winners Belardo, Santa Ana Lane, Vega Magic and Carla Temptress.

While Lope de Vega is now a permanent resident at Ballylinch Stud in Ireland, his two-year-old Group I winning son Belardo shuttles to Haunui Farm in New Zealand where he was advertised at NZ$12,000 in 2017.