The Doug Harrison-trained Snowchino ran her rivals ragged in Saturday’s $100,000 Listed Starstruck Classic (1600m) at Ascot and despite drifting to the centre of the track in the straight had a length to spare in claiming her first stakes success.
Joseph Azzopardi did his best to restrain the 4yo daughter of Maschino but he conceded defeat and let her run along and it proved the winning move.
The ever-consistent Like A Butterfly (Blackfriars) closed the gap to a length at the finish with Mizlecki (Lope de Vega) a half-head back in third.
“It was good they left her alone, she wanted to get her head up a bit and she wouldn’t come back as much as Joey wanted her too, but she just likes to run,” Harrison said.
“Most of these owners have been with me for twenty or thirty years so it’s great for them and for the mare to get her first black-type.”
A bargain-basement $22,000 purchase by her trainer out of the Alwyn Park Stud draft at the 2017 Magic Millions Perth Yearling Sale, Snowchino advances her record to 6 wins, 2 seconds and 2 thirds from 17 starts with earnings of $360,420.
She is the best of four winners from as many to race out of the winning Bletchley Park mare Classical Snow who is a half-sister to the multiple stakes-placed Our Ol' Fella (Halo Homewrecker).
All three placegetters in the Starstruck Classic have siblings catalogued for the Magic Millions Perth Yearling Sale.
Alwyn Park Stud consigns a full-brother to Snowchino, Scenic Lodge will offer a half-brother to Listed winner and Group II WA Derby runner-up Like A Butterfly by Snippetson, and Yarradale Stud has catalogued a Gingerbread Man half-brother to the 4-time Listed stakes-winner Mizlecki.
Snowchino becomes the third stakes-winner for Alwyn Park Stud’s Encosta de Lago stallion Maschino whose 2019 advertised service fee was $4,950.
