Snowland an up and coming sire prospect August 26, 2002 Brian Marheine may have done the Australian breeding industry a big favour when he selected Snowdrift, the dam of Snowland, the winner of the $151,400 Up and Coming Stakes over 1200 metres at Warwick Farm on Saturday, among mares he secured in Europe in1998. Bred at Marheine's Stratheden Stud at Tamworth and sold to the powerful Gooree Stud operation at Mudgee for $90,000 at the Magic Millions Gold Coast premier sale, Snowland now looks one of Australia's most promising sprinters and best young sire prospects. Like his sire Snippets, a tough, sound early maturer, the Gai Waterhouse trained Snowland won six of ten starts at two including the Todman Slipper Trial, Kindergarten Stakes and Gosford Slipper. He was third in the Breeders' Plate and fourth in the Sires' Produce Stakes at Randwick. Although his maternal grandsire, Polish Precedent, was a top Danzig miler and has been a middle distance sire, Snowland is expected to be at his best as a sprinter. This suggestion is boosted by his grandam Snowtop being a half-sister by champion European sprinter Thatching to Al Hareb, the sire of the dazzling record setting Hareeba. Snowland is a relation of English Derby second and good European sire Relkino and from the same family as champion Australasian sire Alcimedes.The bottom line of the pedigree goes back to a half-sister to the grandam of two of the world's leading sire influences of last century, Fairway and Pharos (sire of Nearco, the grandsire of Northern Dancer). Brian Russell Bloodstock Media Service

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