A sprinkling of first crop representatives of our young Snitzel stallion Sword Of State received a warm welcome at the Gold Coast.

Six youngsters by our Group 1-winning resident, who stands at $15,000 + GST, changed hands at the Magic Millions Yearling Sale for A$1,445,000 at an average of A$240,083 with a top price of A$380,000.

That was achieved by Lot 716, who was presented by Kia Ora Stud and the colt will join the leading Sydney stable of expatriate Kiwi trainer Bjorn Baker.

He is the first foal of the Maki mare Needle And Thread, winner of the G2 Royal Stakes and a sister to the stakes winner, Group 1 placegetter and sire Savile Row.

Congratulations also to Wentwood Grange on another top result, selling a Sword Of State colt, Lot 142, out of the Tavistock mare Alloro for A$340,000 to Queensland’s KPW Bloodstock.

From our own small draft, we were delighted with our handsome Sword Of State colt, Lot 769, claimed by Victorian trainer Matt Laurie for a bumper A$375,000.

He is the first foal of the Written Tycoon mare Pazienza, who was successful on two occasions including a 5.8-length two-year-old victory.

The pedigree features the G1 Underwood Stakes winner and G1 Caulfield Cup runner-up Buckaroo whose half-brother Middle Earth was also a multiple stakes winner.

Our Sword Of State colt, Lot 687, was another popular youngster and she was knocked down to New South Wales interests Noble Racing and Luke Price Racing for A$160,000.

The attractive filly is out of the More Than Ready mare More Jools whose half-brother Ninth Legion won the G2 Villiers Stakes and the family of the G1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas winner Tell A Tale.

We couldn’t have wished for a better Boxing Day outcome at Ellerslie with our super mare Snazzytavi.

Her golden run of form appropriately continued with an impressive victory in our sponsored race, the G1 Cambridge Stud Zabeel Classic.

It was the Graham Richardson and Rogan Norvall-trained mare’s fourth win on the bounce and second at the highest level following her runaway success in the G1 Livamol Classic.

Snazzytavi settled fourth last before picking up ground across the top and held a strong gallop to the post for rider Warren Kennedy to score in a driving finish.

“It was a strong field and she’s just beaten a very good horse (La Crique), they are two of the better mares in the country so I’m over the moon,” Richardson said.

“What a thrill, I said to them (Brendan and Jo Lindsay) that we would set her for this race for you guys, so it’s unbelievable.”

Following earlier wins with Remala and About Time, Snazzytavi crowned a cracking day for us and Kennedy.

“On the line I thought I had it, but I must give credit to La Crique as she was super brave and came back at me,” Kennedy said.

“We were worried about the pace and they did end up crawling, I got on the back of La Crique where I wanted to be as I thought she would give me a good pull into it.

“It’s taken a bit of time, we always thought she had ability, but for her to bring it to the fore like this is just fantastic.

“For Brendan and Jo, obviously they have been huge supporters of me, so to win the race they sponsor is really special.”

Snazzytavi was bred by Gordon Cunningham under his Suncroft Bloodstock banner, and we purchased her privately out of the trials.

She is a daughter of the Zabeel mare Ritzy Lady, who won six races including the Listed New Zealand St Leger and finished runner-up in the G2 Counties Cup.

Gallant Embellish filly Hitabell produced a defiant front-running performance at Ellerslie to win the G2 Eight Carat Classic and credit our young Cambridge Stud sire with the most important success of his career to date.

The Group 1-winning son of Savabeel’s daughter Luberon has triumphed twice at Group 3 level in our colours while Bold Soul has also been a multiple black-type winner for him in Australia.

The Stephen Marsh-trained Hitabell had trekked south to Wanganui at her previous start to claim the Listed O’Leary’s Fillies’ Stakes and went to another level on Boxing Day.

She made all the running under rider Courtney Barnes and answered every call in the run home to prevail in the 1600 metre fillies’ feature.

“It was a very good win and she was just so brave,” she said.

“We wanted to be positive from the barrier and when she jumped so well, she put herself on the pace and we could control things from there.

“I was a little worried when the other one (Sethito) cruised up alongside us, but I could feel her building underneath me and she just wouldn’t give in.

“That is the furthest she has gone but the way she relaxes there is nothing to say she couldn’t get a little further than the mile.”

Hitabell was bred by Henley Park’s Sarah Devcich who remained in the ownership group after the filly was purchased by Dylan Johnson Bloodstock and Marsh for $9,500 at New Zealand Bloodstock’s Online Yearling Sale.

She is a daughter of the late Stravinsky mare Anahita, whose last foal is a juvenile filly also by Embellish, and she was a half-sister to the multiple Group 2 winner and Group 1 placegetter Shikoba.