After current leader Pierro quinelled the Listed Fernhill Mile, Snitzel has countered with a quickfire two stakes-winners at Randwick, Away Game in the Group II Percy Sykes Stakes and the progressive Splintex, who had the honour of becoming his champion sire’s 100th stakes-winner, with a hard-fought win in the Group II Arrowfield Sprint (1200m).
Ridden by Robbie Dolan for trainer Mark Newnham, Splintex hit the front at the 300 metres but he came under pressure when Godolphin’s Group 1 winning Medaglia d’Oro (USA) filly Flit gained a rails run.
It looked like Flit may have done enough to get the nod but the judge found a nose margin to Splintex. The Fastnet Rock filly Anaheed was one and a quarter lengths back in third.
Carrying the colours of his breeders Geoff and Mary Grimish, Splintex advances his record to 4 wins and 3 thirds from 8 starts with earnings of $352,750.
“That was terrific,” Newnham said.
“He hadn’t been and won at the 1200m yet so I had my heart in my mouth the last few strides, but he’s just a really good genuine horse and I think he has been a bit underestimated.
“His fours win before today had all come in Saturday company, we tested him a little bit stronger in Melbourne and it all went wrong.
“They had a lot of rain on the day, but we freshened him up and looked at this race and now he is a Group II winner and he’s still a colt.”
Dolan said he was not sure he got the bob in at the finish.
“That means a lot to us,” he said.
“I have ridden him since he was a very young horse and I have always believed in him along the way. It’s just unbelievable to ride him in a big race like this today, and then to win it is a fairy tale.
“Flit is very long. That is one thing I noticed just after the line, I thought gee she is longer than I am, but thankfully my fella just stuck his nose out in the right spot. I’m over the moon, delighted.”
Splintex is the third winner from as many to race out of the top-class O’Reilly mare Acquired whose two previous winners are the stakes-placed winners Invictus Salute (Exceed and Excel) and Acqume (Sepoy).
A 7-time winner and runner-up in the Group II BRC Dane Ripper Stakes, Acquired is a half-sister to Coolmore’s exceptional broodmare Hips Don’t Lie (Stravinsky) whose Golden Slipper-placed daughter Lake Geneva had an American Pharoah filly sell for $450,000 at the recent Easter Yearling Sale, while Hips Don’t Lie’s Fastnet Rock colt was passed in short of his $1,000,000 reserve.
Purchased for $430,000 at the 2011 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale to support the recently retired Shellscrape, Acquired was sold to Highgrove Stud for $450,000 at last year’s Chairman’s Sale when carrying a filly by Not A Single Doubt who sadly died after birth.
Acquired was bred back to The Autumn Sun last spring.
