Schnell Meister ( ja, シュネルマイスター, link=no, foaled 23 March 2018) is a German-bred Japanese-trained

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

racehorse. He showed promise as a two-year-old in 2020 when he won both of his races. In the following spring he finished second in the

Yayoi Sho The is a Japanese Grade 2 flat horse race in Japan for three-year-old Thoroughbred colts and fillies run over a distance of 2,000 metres at the Nakayama Racecourse, Funabashi, Chiba. The race is run in March and serves as a major trial race for ...

before winning the Grade 1

NHK Mile Cup The NHK Mile Cup () is a Grade 1 flat horse race in Japan for three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies, run over a distance of 1,600 metres (approximately one mile) on the turf at Tokyo Racecourse in May. The NHK Mile Cup is sponsored by ...

Background

Schnell Meister is a bay colt with a small white

star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

bred in Germany by the Japanese breeding company Northern Farm. He entered the ownership of the Northern Farm associate Sunday Racing and was sent into training with Takahisa Tezuka. He was from the third crop of foals sired by Kingman who was named

Cartier Horse of the Year The Cartier Horse of the Year is an award in European horse racing, founded in 1991, and sponsored by Cartier SA as part of the Cartier Racing Awards. The award winner is decided by points earned in group races plus the votes cast by British racin ...

in 2014 when he won the Irish 2,000 Guineas, St James's Palace Stakes, Sussex Stakes and

Prix Jacques Le Marois The Prix Jacques Le Marois is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbred colts and fillies aged three years or older. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile ...

. Schnell Meister was the first foal of his dam Serienholde, a top class racemare who won the

Preis der Diana The Preis der Diana is a Group 1 flat horse race in Germany open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Düsseldorf over a distance of 2,200 metres (about 1 mile and 3 furlongs), and it is scheduled to take pl ...

as a three-year-old in 2016. She was a descendant of the German broodmare Suleika (foaled 1954) who was the ancestor of numerous major winners including

Slip Anchor Slip Anchor (1982–2011) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 1985 Epsom Derby by seven lengths. After showing some promise as a two-year-old, he showed substantial improvement in the spring of 1985, winning the ...

, Manhattan Cafe and

Buena Vista Buena Vista, meaning "good view" in Spanish, may refer to: Places Canada *Bonavista, Newfoundland and Labrador, with the name being originally derived from “Buena Vista” *Buena Vista, Saskatchewan *Buena Vista, Saskatoon, a neighborhood in ...

Racing career

2020: two-year-old season

Schnell Meister made a successful racecourse debut at

Sapporo Racecourse is located in Chūō-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. It was built in 1907 for horse racing use. It has 12,000 seats, with a capacity of 30,000. Sapporo Racecourse hosts one GII (Grade 2) race, the Sapporo Kinen. Physical attributes Main turf cou ...

on 9 September when he won an event for previously unraced juveniles over 1500 metres on firm ground. Ridden by Takeshi Yokoyama he started the 1.1/1 favourite and took the lead in the straight before prevailing by three quarters of a

length Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the Interna ...

from Ten War Cry. After a break of three months the colt returned to the track in Nakayama Racecourse in December when he was partnered by Christophe Lemaire and went off favourite for the 1600 metre Hiiragi Sho. He raced in mid-division before going to the front in the straight and came home three lengths clear of Wazamono with Arabian Night in third.

2021: three-year-old season

For his three-year-old debut Schnell Meister was stepped up in class for the

Grade 2 Grade 2 may refer to: * Grade 2, the second year of primary education. * Grade 2 horse races, the second tier in worldwide horse racing. * Grade 2, the English punk band. Grade II may refer to: * Grade II listed buildings that are of special inter ...

(a trial race for the

Satsuki Sho Satsuki is a traditional Japanese name for the month of . It is commonly used as a feminine given name and, more rarely, as a surname or a masculine name. Possible spellings Satsuki can be spelled using different ''kanji'' characters and can mean: ...

) over 2000 metres at Nakayama on 7 March. With Lemaire in the saddle, and starting 3.9/1 second choice in the ten-runner field he raced in second place behind Titleholder, and although he was unable to challenge the front-running winner he held on to finish runner-up, a neck ahead of the favourite

Danon The Kid Danon The Kid ( ja, ダノンザキッド, link=no foaled 29 January 2018) is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. He was one of the best two-year-olds in Japan in 2020 when he won all three of his races including the Tokyo Sports Hai Nisai Stak ...

. The fact that the colt had been unable to close on the winner in the closing stages of the race led Takahisa Tezuka to abandon plans to run him in the Satsuki Sho and bring him back in distance. On 9 May Schnell Meister was partnered with Lemaire when he was one of eighteen three-year-olds to contest the 26th edition of the Grade 1 NHK Mile Cup over 1600 metres at Tokyo Racecourse. He went off the 2.7/1 second favourite behind

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

in a field which also included Bathrat Leon (winner of the

New Zealand Trophy The New Zealand Trophy (Japanese ニュージーランドトロフィー) is a Japanese Grade 2 flat horse race in Japan for three-year-old Thoroughbreds. It is run over a distance of 1600 metres at Nakayama Racecourse in April. The New Zealan ...

), Ho O Amazon (

Arlington Cup The Arlington Cup (Japanese アーリントンカップ) is a Grade 3 horse race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run in April over a distance of 1600 metres at Hanshin Racecourse. The race was first run in 1992 and has held Grade 3 status ever ...

), Rooks Nest (

Falcon Stakes The Falcon Stakes (Japanese ファルコンステークス) is a Grade 3 horse race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run in March over a distance of 1400 metres at Chukyo Racecourse. The race was first run in 1987 and has held Grade 3 status fro ...

), Pixie Knight ( Shinzan Kinen) and Shock Action (

Niigata Nisai Stakes The Niigata Nisai Stakes (Japanese 新潟2歳ステークス) is a Grade 3 horse race for two-year-old Thoroughbreds run in August over a distance of 1600 metres at Niigata Racecourse. The race was first run in 1981 and was promoted to Grade 3 ...

). Schnell Meister settled in mid-division as

Pixie Knight Pixie Knight (Japanese: ピクシーナイト, foaled 14 May 2018) is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. He showed promise as a two-year-old in 2020 when he won one of his two starts. In the following year he was initially campaigned over 1600 m ...

set the pace from Ho O Amazon and Grenadier Guards and turned into the straight in ninth place. In the closing stages he produced a sustained run on the outside and caught the filly Songline on the line to win by a nose. Grenadier Guards was two and a half lengths back in third to complete a 1-2-3 for Sunday Racing. Lemaire, who had just marked his 37th Grade 1 race win in Japan, commented; "He took some time to get into gear but eventually got into a good rhythm and responded strongly in the critical stages... There is still a lot of greenness in Schnell Meister and a lot of room for improvement but once he's established himself physically, he should be able to handle the best." Schnell Meister was then sent to the Yasuda Kinen, where he finished a close third behind Danon Kingly and

Gran Alegria Gran Alegria ( ja, グランアレグリア, link=no, foaled 24 January 2016) is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. After winning a minor race on her debut in 2018 she won the Saudi Arabia Royal Cup before running third in the Asahi Hai Futurity ...

. After a summer break, Schnell Meister was entered in to the

Mainichi Okan The is one of the major newspapers in Japan, published by In addition to the ''Mainichi Shimbun'', which is printed twice a day in several local editions, Mainichi also operates an English language news website called ''The Mainichi'' (previ ...

, where he beat Danon Kingly by a head, earning him his second grade race win. The horse was then sent to the Mile Championship but lost to Gran Alegria by 3/4 of a length.

2022-23: four and five-year old seasons

Schnell Meister's first race for the 2022 season was the Dubai Turf, of which he was the most favored to win. Despite this, he finished 8th. The horse then went on to race in the Yasuda Kinen once again this time losing to Songline by a neck. After this race, however, he couldn't make an impressive showing for the remainder of the year. It was not until the

Yomiuri Milers Cup The Yomiuri Milers Cup (Japanese マイラーズカップ) is a Japanese Grade 2 flat horse race in Japan for Thoroughbreds of at least four years of age. It was run over a distance of 1600 metres at Hanshin Racecourse until 2011 in April but is ...

of 2023 that Schnell Meister would be able to win any race. This win, which marked his 3rd graded race victory, allowed for the horse to enter the Yasuda Kinen for a third year in row. However, he finished third to Songline in that race in spite of covering the last three furlongs the fastest. After a summer break, he was entered in to the Mainichi Okan, where he came in third behind and Songline, and the following month he ran the Mile Championship, where he finished at 7th place. This would become his last race, as Sunday Racing announced several days after the race that both he and Songline would retire at the same time.

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist 2018 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Germany Racehorses trained in Japan Thoroughbred family 16-c