Golden Slipper winner Shinzo will take up a place on the Coolmore stallion roster later this year after it was announced on Monday morning that he had been retired from racing.
The son of Snitzel has had just one run this year, a fourth placing in the Group 3 Star Kingdom Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill on March 30, taking his career record to eight starts for two wins and three minor placings.
Shinzo became Snitzel’s only male winner of the world’s richest two-year-old race when he defeated Cylinder in last year’s Golden Slipper.
He earned a Timeform rating of 120 for that win, which makes him the highest-rated two-year-old by the four-time Australian Champion Sire.
“Snitzel is a four-time champion sire of two-year-olds and one of the greatest stallions we have seen in Australia in the modern era,” Coolmore Australia’s Tom Magnier said.
“We are delighted to stand his best two-year-old and best-bred son at stud.
“The Golden Slipper has an unmatched record as a sire-making race and Shinzo has all the credentials we look for in a sire prospect, with an impeccable pedigree and incredible good looks.”
Out of the Blue Diamond and Moir Stakes-winning mare Samaready, Shinzo placed in the Group 3 Canonbury Stakes (1100m) and Group 2 Skyline Stakes (1200m) at his first two starts before breaking his maiden in the Group 3 Pago Pago Stakes (1200m) a week before the Golden Slipper.
His only placing in four starts as a three-year-old was a third behind Ozzmosis and I Am Unstoppable in the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) at Flemington on Derby Day.
Shinzo provided Hall of Fame trainer Chris Waller with his maiden Golden Slipper success and the champion horseman expects him to pass that on to his progeny.
“He’s a very special horse and we knew early on when he came into our system,” Waller said.
“He has a great temperament and is the most naturally gifted two-year-old I have ever trained.
“When you pair that with his great physique and pedigree, he is such a desirable stallion prospect.”
Shinzo’s introductory fee will be $55,000, including GST.
