Beautifully bred colt Switzerland showed he was emphatically back on the path toward becoming another G1-winning Inglis graduate by scoring a blistering victory in Saturday’s Gr2 Roman Consul Stakes over 1200m at Rosehill.
A Gr2 winner of the Todman Stakes as a 2YO – bought from breeders Arrowfield Stud by Coolmore’s Tom Magnier for A$1.5 million at last year’s Inglis Easter Yearling sale – Switzerland powered up the inside to score going away by two lengths.
Chris Waller’s handsome son of Snitzel – whose younger full-brother will likely be offered at Inglis Easter in 2025 – drifted to start at A$6, possibly reflecting punters’ questions over the 3YO after an underwhelming last-start effort.
But he was back to best on Saturday in sealing his second Gr2 victory and setting the scene for higher laurels in the Spring.
Post-race discussion immediately turned to whether Switzerland might in fact be put into Coolmore’s slot for next Saturday’s A$20m Gr1 The Everest.
While connections will hold further discussions on that possibility, Waller may instead opt to steer Switzerland towards the Gr1 Coolmore Stud Stakes at Flemington on Derby Day.
Magnier was “over the moon” with Switzerland’s powerhouse Roman Consul triumph, and said discussions on his immediate path would be conducted over the next two days.
“We bought him from Arrowfield, Chris always had a big opinion of him, and he’s now a Gr2 winner as a 2YO and 3YO, with the best yet to come,” Magnier said.
“Full credit to all the team at Chris’s. He had that chip that had to be taken out after the Slipper, and with his last start, he probably shouldn’t have run in hindsight.
“He’s had a bit of bad luck, but Nash Rawiller gave him a great ride today. We came here with belief today.”
Magnier said he could still clearly remember the yearling Switzerland on show at Inglis Easter.
“He was one of those horses you could still picture in your head right now,” the Coolmore boss said. “He’s a horse with a lot of quality.”
Waller was delighted to see Switzerland return to winning ways.
“He’s a good colt and today will give him a lot of confidence,” Waller said.
He’s the first foal of Ms Bad Behavior, who has gone to Snitzel for all four of her covers so far, and threw the fourth in a sequence of full brothers on September 30, a colt Freyer describes as “a real beauty”.
She’s booked for a fifth mating with Snitzel later this Spring, while Freyer says her “outstanding” 2023 colt will likely be going to Inglis Easter next year.
“He was outstanding today,” Freyer said of Switzerland’s Roman Consul win. “He’s built a great record and he’s a really high class colt. There’s a Gr1 race beckoning for him, whether it’s next week or in three weeks’ time.
Aside from selling Switzerland, Arrowfield bought the top lot at Inglis Easter last year in A$1.8m filly Autumn Glow (The Autumn Sun), who’s now a budding superstar unbeaten in three starts.
“It’s fabulous. Here’s another Inglis yearling doing well in Switzerland,” he said.
“Autumn Glow was the top-priced yearling in the sale, and she’s a high class filly, and Switzerland wasn’t far behind her in price.
“He’s now a multiple G2 winner with his career still ahead of him, so that’s great for Inglis and terrific for us.
“He was the highest priced yearling we sold in 2023, and to see him be such a good colt now is gratifying for the whole team.”
Meanwhile, the Mitch Freedman-trained Attrition (Churchill) underscored how much of a bargain buy he was at the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale when he took out the valuable G2 Hill Stakes over 1900m, also on Saturday’s Rosehill card.
