San Domenico a stroll for Snitzerland

Golden Slipper runner-up Snitzerland looked as good as ever during a first-up victory in the G3 San Domenico Stakes (1100m) at Rosehill.

Snitzerland (3f Snitzel – Monte Rosa by Fraar) jumped straight to the front and was never headed.  The Gerald Ryan trained filly strolled in from Driefontein (Fastnet Rock) and All Too Hard (Casino Prince) after clocking 33.57 seconds for the last 600m.

The classy daughter of Snitzel was bred by Arrowfield Stud and sold from Bellerive Stud’s draft at the 2011 Inglis Melbourne Premier yearling sale for $125,000.

Snitzerland is from an unraced sister to G3 winner Nina Haraka and comes from the Tennessee family of stakes winning fillies.  Her dam Monte Rosa had already foaled the winners Red Dress Marley (Hussonet), Akmal (Flying Spur) and Deleque (French Deputy).

Owners Neil Werrett and Steve McCann purchased the filly on the advice of Kitchwin Hill’s Mick Malone.  Werrett is well-known as a part-owner of fellow Melbourne Premier Sale purchase Black Caviar and Snitzerland is proving to be a great earner in her own right.  The San Domenico Stakes victory increased her earnings to $949,500.

Snitzerland finished a half-head second to Applegate on debut in the Listed VRC Ottawa Stakes in November before returning for a runaway victories in the Inglis Premier at Mornington and G3 Breeders Stakes at Flemington.

She finished within a long neck of Pierro in the Golden Slipper and he went on to dominant victories in the G1 Sires’ Produce and Champagne Stakes at Randwick.

The San Domenico has been a great guide to future top three-year-olds sprinters with Foxwedge, Shellscrape, Duporth, Gold Edition and Charge Forward all going on to Group 1 glory in their classic season.

Snitzerland’s main aim this year will be the G1 VRC Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) at Flemington on Derby Day.  Top-class filly Gold Edition completed the San Domenico – Coolmore double in 2006.

SNITZERLAND
Snitzel filly wins in Melbourne before the Golden Slipper