Schnell Meister lands narrow victory in NHK Mile Cup
Juddmonte Farms’ sire Kingman (Invincible Spirit) was handed another landmark success on Sunday when Schnell Meister (3 c ex Serienholde by Soldier Hollow) became the stallion’s fourth top-flight winner and first in Japan when he took out the NHK Mile Cup (Gr 1, 1600m) in Tokyo.
A winner of his first two career starts as a juvenile, the colt surrendered that unbeaten record when he finished second in the Hochi Hai Yayoi Sho Deep Impact Kinen (Gr 2, 2000m) on his first start as a three-year-old on March 7.
Ridden by Christophe Lemaire, the Takahisa Tezuka-trained German-bred led home a trifecta for owner Sunday Racing when he came out on top of a close finish to beat Songline (Kizuna) by a nose, while Grenadier Guards (Frankel) - who was sent off the 12/5 favourite was a further two and a half lengths away in third.
“He jumped out of the gate well but I didn’t want to pressure him too much in the early stages but while sitting in mid-field, we still had to put in some effort to keep with the rapid pace,” said Lemaire “He took some time to get into gear but eventually got into a good rhythm and responded strongly in the critical stages.
“We were able to follow Songline into the homestretch for the attack and had just that little more when Songline started to lean near the finish. There is still a lot of greenness in Schnell Meister and has a lot of room for improvement but once he’s established himself physically, he should be able to handle the best at Grade 1 level.”
In winning the Grade 1, Schnell Meister also became Kingman’s 35th stakes winner and the first German-bred winner of the race and he is the only winner out of 2016 Preis der Diana (Gr 1, 2200m) winner Serienholde (Soldier Hollow).
Serienholde herself is a half-sister to Group 3 winner Serienhoehe (High Chaparral).
The colt’s third dam is Listed scorer Salde (Alkalde) and she is also the dam of Group 3 winners Saldenschwinge (In The Wings) and Saldentigerin (Tiger Hill), who in turn produced 2012 Preis der Diana winner Salomina - the dam of Japanese Grade 1 winner Salios (Heart’s Cry) and Grade 2 scorer Salacia (Deep Impact).
Schnell Meister joins Persian King, Palace Pier and Domestic Spending as the stallion’s other top-flight winners and he stood at Banstead Manor in Newmarket for a fee of £150,000 in 2021.
The son of Invincible Spirit (Green Desert) is represented in Australia by his Group 2-winning son Calyx, who will stand his second season at Coolmore Stud in the Hunter Valley at a fee of $13,750 (inc GST) in 2021.
Meanwhile at Niigata, Sanrei Pocket (6 h ex Admire Punch by Wild Rush) broke through at stakes level for the first time on his 19th career start when he landed the Niigata Daishoten (Gr 3, 2000m) and in the process handed his sire Jungle Pocket (Tony Bin) his 30th stakes winner.
