The Snitzel Legacy

Tara Madgwick - Thursday June 12

A four time Champion Australian Sire in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020, Snitzel was an extremely fertile sire that covered 3043 mares in 19 seasons at stud in Australia and attracted 100 plus books in every year since 2010, so his passing will cast shockwaves through the breeding industry.

In progeny performance terms, Snitzel was not an old stallion slipping quietly into the twilight, he was firing on all cylinders.

Snitzel will leave a lasting legacy.

He will be crowned Champion 2YO Sire 2024/225 at the end of this season with some 20 2YO winners to his credit in Australia and New Zealand including Group I winning juveniles on both sides of the the Tasman in Marhoona (Golden Slipper) and Return to Conquer (Sistema Stakes).

He has also sired nine stakes-winning 3YO’s this season and they are headed by triple Group I winning filly Lady Shenandoah, who may ultimately end up being his crowning achievement, and the $1.5million colt Switzerland, who won the Group I VRC Coolmore stud Stakes and retires to Coolmore this spring.

With all of this going on at the track, is it any wonder his yearlings sold for record prices in 2025 with 27 yearlings at Magic Millions selling at an average $765,556 and 31 selling at Inglis Easter at an average $718,387.

The highest priced Snitzel yearling ever sold came this year when the Humma Humma colt sold for $2.8million at the Gold coast.

He had 11 yearlings sell for $1million in 2025 listed below and if you want to see the full sales breakdown year by year for Snitzel’s entire career, CLICK HERE.

Snitzel has 113 rising 2YO’s and 105 weanlings with his final book of 114 mares to produce his very last crop of foals later this spring.

Some of the obvious standout mares due to foal to Snitzel this spring are young G1 winners such as Coolangatta and Graceful Girl along with the dams of Lady Shenandoah and Switzerland.

Advertisement

Snitzel was advertised this spring at a fee of $247,500 and we can assume his book would have been full again, which means there will be around 100 mares floating around now with owners looking to form Plan B.

Phones will be ringing hot at all the big farms as breeders look to rearrange their mating plans, but if you were booked to Snitzel, he’s not an easy horse to find an alternative for.

The only truly comparable horses in terms of sale ring appeal and overall profile are Zoustar ($275,000) and I Am Invincible ($220,000), with shuttle stallions Wootton Bassett (GB) ($385,000) and Too Darn Hot (GB) ($275,000) also in that top pricing echelon, while Extreme Choice ($330,000) has the stats, but not the fertility to make him a viable option.

Looking further down the price scale you are considering horses like unproven Anamoe in his third season at $110,000, up and comers Ole Kirk ($99,000) and Farnan ($77,000), whose first 2YO’s have hit the ground running, proven duo Dundeel and Toronado (IRE) both at $88,000 and Home Affairs at $82,500, whose first yearlings have sold sensationally well this year.

Snitzel also has a myriad of sons now at stud with over 30 listed on the Australian Studbook and they cover a wide price range from hobby breeding options to the young superstars we hope can take his sireline into the next generation.

Interestingly, Arrowfield, who have a long record of success in standing sons of their champion sires do not have one on their roster.

Below is a list featuring a selection of his sons at stud listed by price.

Sire

Stud

Fee

Status

Switzerland

Coolmore

$60,500

First season

Shinzo

Coolmore

$55,000

Second season

Shamus Award

Rosemont Stud, Vic

$33,000

G1 sire

Russian Revolution

Newgate Farm

$33,000

G1 sire

Trapeze Artist

Widden Stud

$33,000

G1 sire

In The Congo

Newgate Farm

$27,500

Third season

Wild Ruler

Newgate Farm

$27,500

Fourth season

Lofty Strike

Swettenham Stud, Vic

$22,000

Second season

Sword of State

Cambridge Stud, NZ

$20,000

Fourth season

Best of Bordeaux

Coolmore

$13,750

Third season

Sandbar

Kooringal Stud

$13,200

Oldest 2YOs

Prost

Aquis, Qld

$13,200

First season

Generation

Lovatsville, Vic

$11,000

Second season

Bruckner

Widden Victoria

$9,900

Third season

Dracarys

Dracarys, Qld

$9,900

Sire of a SW

Splintex

Darling View Thoroughbreds, WA

$7,700

Fourth season

Doull

Rosemont Stud, Vic

$7,700

Second season

Wandjina

Larneuk Stud, Vic

$6,600

Stakes producing sire

Bondi

Lynward Park Stud, WA

$6,600

Sire of a SW

Mr Mozart

Highview Stud, NZ

$6,000

Second season

Ka Ying Master

Bombora Downs, Vic

$5,500

Third season

Boulder City

Riverbank Stud, Vic

$4,400

Sire of winners

Thronum

Maiton Ag, Vic

$3,300

Sire of HK G1 winner

Advertisment
More Reading...
Kiwi stayer Mark Twain on Comeback Trail
One-time Melbourne Cup fancy Mark Twain will make his first public appearance for more than 12 months when the Roger James and Robert Wellwood-trained gelding has an exhibition gallop at Te Rapa on Saturday.
Sires With Winners - Thursday July 24
Here is the full list of 49 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Amelia’s Jewel Family Produces Wootton Bassett 2YO SW
Wootton Bassett (GB) added yet another new two year old stakes-winner to his tally overnight in Ireland with the Group III Silver Flash Stakes (7 ½ f) at Leopardstown going to a filly that is closely related to Aussie Group I winner Amelia’s Jewel.
2YO Looking Replicate Family Stakes Success
Tony Furness will head to Otaki with family history on his side when he tackles the Listed Phils Electrical and Gipsy Caravans Ryder Stakes (1200m) with his promising juvenile Reconvene on Saturday.
Kiwi Trainer Collects a Unique Double
Riccarton horseman Andrew Carston collected a winning double at his local synthetic meeting on Thursday, firstly as an owner and later as a trainer.
Havana Grey Sireline Strikes with New Stakes-Winner
Small in stature, Havana Grey is one of Europe’s hottest and most interesting sires and Australian breeders should probably learn a bit more about him given his Champion 2YO Colt Vandeek (GB) is shuttling to Arrowfield Stud this spring.
Too Darn Promising
If there is one thing we have learned about the progeny of Too Darn Hot (GB) this season it is that they train on and whatever his progeny show at two they invariably improve on at three so with that thinking in mind we’ve gone looking for a few spring contenders starting with the obvious.
Farnan Draws Level with Ole Kirk on 13 Winners
There’s a good battle going to decide the leading first season sire by Australian winners and with just seven days of the season to run Farnan is laying down the gauntlet to the long time division leader Ole Kirk.
New Zealand Makes Presence Felt in Hong Kong’s 2024-25 Season
From a freakish sprinter with a (NZ) suffix to an exciting group of up-and-comers sourced from the Karaka sale ring, New Zealand’s influence was strongly felt on Hong Kong racetracks during the 2024-25 season.
Breeding To Win – Crystal Ball – New Season 3YOs to Follow
Who are we highlighting this week? - Analysis of the G1 winning 3YO’s for this season has made us realise how many horses on this list took giant strides from two to three, so we are looking into the crystal ball to find some juveniles we believe could end next season as G1 performers if not G1 winners.