Snitzel has equalled a 15-year-old Australian stakes record but the sire is running out of time to take the record for himself.
Peter and Paul Snowden-trained Calanda became Snitzel’s 26th individual stakes winner with a narrow victory in the Ramornie Handicap at Grafton on Wednesday.
That brought Arrowfield Stud’s most-marketable sire’s season level with the exceptional 2001/02 season of his grandsire, Danehill.
Of the Snitzel horses to have raced this season, almost one in two have won and one in 12 has claimed a stakes race.
Nine Group and Listed races remain for Snitzel to come up with a 27th stakes winner.
His only runner this weekend, Elle Lou in the Winter Stakes at Rosehill, has already won a stakes race this season.
That leaves the Tattersall’s Mile, Oakland Plate, Bletchingly Stakes, Lightning Stakes and Winter Challenge as the final opportunities for Snitzel’s offspring.
Even with a total of 64 stakes winners across all seasons, Snitzel is still dwarfed by Danehill’s incredible mark of 344.
STAKES WINNERS IN A SINGLE SEASON
* Snitzel – 2016/17 – 26 (154 total winners)
* Danehill – 2001/02 – 26 (109)
* Danehill – 2002/03 – 21 (116)
* Danehill – 2004/05 – 21 (110)
Credit: AAP