Plans for Group 1-winning colt Switzerland to round out his racing career at Royal Ascot have been aborted with the three-year-old retired by Coolmore on Wednesday.
A trip to the UK had been touted immediately after Switzerland’s emphatic Coolmore Stud Stakes win at Flemington last November and remained a possibility throughout his autumn campaign.
But after considering their options, Switzerland’s trainer Chris Waller and the colt’s owners, the Magnier family and their racing partners, elected to immediately retire the valuable stallion prospect to Coolmore’s Hunter Valley stud ahead of the 2025 breeding season.
Victorious in last year’s key Golden Slipper lead-up the Todman Stakes and a dominant winner of a Roman Consul and the career-defining Coolmore Stud Stakes at three, Switzerland retires to stud at a fee of $60,500 (inc GST).
“Switzerland is a horse that we have been looking forward to standing at Coolmore for a long time. He was always the head of his class from when he was broken-in at the farm to when he first arrived in Chris Waller’s stable,” Coolmore Australia principal Tom Magnier said.
“He was a top-class two-year-old, the fastest ever winner of the Coolmore Stud Stakes and the highest-rated spring three-year-old ever by the great Snitzel.”
The Coolmore colts partnership, which already has Home Affairs and Golden Slipper winner Shinzo on its Hunter Valley stallion roster, paid $1.5 million for Switzerland from the Arrowfield draft at the 2023 Inglis Easter sale.
He is out of US Grade 2-winning Blame mare Ms Bad Behavior and Coolmore backed up their belief in the family by paying $2.7 million for Switzerland’s brother at last week’s Easter Yearling sale.
“Physically, he is a stunning horse who we believe will be extremely easy for breeders to mate to, with a high-class American speed pedigree that lends itself to much of the Australian broodmare population,” Magnier said.
“He is a very exciting addition to our roster and we will be supporting him with quality mares from the start.”
Switzerland is the second first season sire to be announced by Coolmore, having earlier confirmed that Europe’s champion two-and three-year-old City Of Troy would shuttle to Australia later this year at a fee of $49,500.
- Defeated 5 individual Gr.1 winners when winning the Gr.1 Manikato
One of three sons of Snitzel on the Coolmore roster alongside Shinzo and Best Of Bordeaux, Switzerland’s regular jockey James McDonald described the colt as “a dream to ride” who possessed an “incredible turn of foot” while Waller says the horse was an “absolute standout” from the time they saw him at the sales.
“He had so much presence, just a big, strong handsome colt with a beautiful action and what a racehorse he turned into,” Waller said.
“They couldn’t touch him in the Todman … and he was electric again in the Coolmore. Switzerland is a very special horse. I can’t wait to see what he does in the next chapter.”
While Switzerland, who ran seventh in the TJ Smith, beaten just 1.8 lengths, in his 10th and final race start on April 5, won’t be at Royal Ascot in June, the prestigious meeting won’t be without Australian representation.
"Switzerland is a very special horse. I can’t wait to see what he does in the next chapter." - Chris Waller
The Coolmore co-owned colt Storm Boy, a multiple Group winner in Australia for trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, is now in training at Ballydoyle in Ireland with Aidan O’Brien.
"The plan is to go Irish Guineas weekend for a six-furlong Group 3 then he could go to Ascot for the six-furlong Group 1 (Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes),” O’Brien told the Nick Luck Daily Podcast.
"We weren't sure before he came whether he was a six, seven-furlong, mile (horse) - the more we do with him, he's a quick, fast horse, so he probably ends up at Ascot."
