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Million dollar colt Dracarys contributed to a Group race treble by Australia's newly crowned champion sire Snitzel in Sydney and Melbourne on Saturday.
Snitzel has made an electrifying start to the 2017/18 season, his black type treble on Saturday taking his progeny warnings to almost cracking $1 million a mere 19 days into the new season.
Dracarys was a star turn at Randwick when he won the G3 Up and Coming Stakes in a new track record time of 1:14.76 for the 1300 metres.Dracarys was a $1 million yearling star from the Magic Millions Gold Coast sale ring last year.
Prepared by Peter and Paul Snowden for a large team of owners brought together by his yearling buyer James Harron, Dracarys is by Snitzel from the stakes winning mare Nocturnelle and was sold through the draft of Arrowfield Stud.Harron and clients bought four yearling colts from Arrowfield Stud in 2016 and three of them are now Group winners - Gunnison (Not A Single Doubt); Pariah (Redoute's Choice) and Dracarys. The fourth colt Severence (Redoute's Choice) is a recent maiden winner.Dracarys adds to the amazing run Harron has enjoyed with his yearling buys. The list includes star colts and sires Vancouver, Capitalist, Foxwedge, Wandjina and Attention.
He purchased 15 yearling colts in 2016 on behalf of his owners with Dracarys the fourth stakes winner from that ‘crop’, joining Gunnison (Todman Stakes), Khan (Breeders’ Plate) and Pariah (Canonbury Stakes).Dracarys is the first foal of dual stakeswinner Nocturnelle (Elusive Quality). Her Redoute's Choice filly was bought for $650,000 by Shadwell Stud at the 2017 Sydney Easter Sale.
Nocturnelle is a daughter of G3 winner Dama de Noche, while other relations include Buffering, Intergaze and a host of Northern Hemisphere black type winners.Nocturnelle is due to foal again to Snitzel this spring.
Dracarys has now won twice in four starts and has emulated his sire as Snitzel won the Up And Coming Stakes in 2005.Named after the word for dragonfire in the fictional Game of Thrones language High Valyrian, he is the 66th stakeswinner by Snitzel and seventh black type winner to emerge from Arrowfield Stud's yearling class of 2016, joining G1 winners Invader and Mustaaqeem, Group winners Gunnison and Pariah and Listed winners Azazel and Ardrossan.
Snitzel’s unbeaten juvenile stakeswinner Jukebox opened his 3YO campaign with a dominant win in the G3 Vain Stakes at Caulfield on Saturday.Bred by Oakland Park Stud from the Perth 2YO Listed winner Jestatune (Rory's Jester), Jukebox was offered by Blue Gum Farm at the 2016 Melbourne Premier Sale where trainer Ciaron Maher bought him for $200,000.
Neville and Susan Duncan’s Oakland Park Stud is a showcase property nestled between Busselton and the Margaret River in WA and has a big reputation as a nursery.
“We sent across five horses to be sold under the Blue Gum banner at the 2016 Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale and ended up topping the averages,” Neville Duncan said.“Jukebox was among them and also in that draft for us was Ducimus who won the Listed Talindert Stakes at Flemington and was fourth in the Vain on Saturday.”
Another of their Premier yearlings was Fantastic Show (Not A Single Doubt x Evoked) who won as a 2YO in Hong Kong.The Duncans got serious about horse breeding in the 1990s with subsequent Oakland Park graduates including 11-time G1 winner Northerly, G1 winners Covertly and Shirazamatazz and multiple Group winners Marasco, North Boy, Roman Time, Grand Nirvana and Ihtsahymn, a half sister to Jukebox’s dam Jestatune.
“We purchased Umatune, Jestatune’s dam, in 2003 and she was a terrific mare for us,” Duncan adds. “Two stakes winners, two other stakes horses and now Jestatune has an unbeaten stakes winner in Jukebox.“We’ve got a Not a Single Doubt yearling filly from Jestatune but the mare was later sold and died before producing another foal. Still got a few of the family running around our paddocks though.”
Oakland Park now has a complement of 30 mares and three resident stallions - Rogano, a full brother to Not A Single Doubt; Lonhro’s G2 winner Sessions; and Safeguard, an unbeaten 2YO by Exceed And Excel.Another of Snitzel's 2016/17 stakeswinners made a winning season debut at Randwick when his 5YO mare Sweet Redemption resumed in the G3 Toy Show Quality.
Bred by Bell View Park Stud, Sweet Redemption (Sniztel x Redeeming Lass by Red Ransom) was offered at the 2014 Magic Millions Gold Coast Sale where Round Table Racing and James Harron Bloodstock bought her for $120,000.She has now won six races and prizemoney of almost $390,000.