'Added a zero': Winning racehorse Switzerland skyrockets $13m in value
Updated . First published at
The value of racehorse Switzerland skyrocketed from $1.5 million to about $15 million in his Coolmore Stud Stakes victory, horse racing expert Francesca Cumani has estimated.
Champion jockey James McDonald rode to victory on Switzerland, a three-year-old colt trained by the legendary Chris Waller, at the Victoria Derby on Saturday.
The horse was sublime in the 1200m race at Flemington Racecourse, bursting into the lead in the final 200 metres and winning by two-and-a-half lengths.
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Cumani explained on Nine's coverage of Derby Day that Switzerland was now a high chance of retiring from racing and being used to produce more champion racehorses.
The theory is the young stallion, which Switzerland is because he hasn't been castrated, could deliver semen rich with top-quality genes.
"When you spin through the previous winners of this race, many of them have gone to stand at stud and very successfully," Cumani said.
James McDonald riding Switzerland to victory. Getty
"So he will likely be the latest in the line of those.
"There's a massive emphasis on speed in this country. People want sprinters and they want precocious sprinters, so he will be popular.
"... In terms of value, yes, he was $1.5 [million] as a yearling. Now, I mean, he's at least added a zero to that."
McDonald won the Coolmore Studs Stakes, a Group 1 race, for the third time in four years.
His triumph follows his Coolmore wins in 2021 on Home Affairs and in 2022 on In Secret.
"This is one of the nicest colts I've sat on for a while," McDonald told Billy Slater on the Nine coverage.
"He's been promising to do that. He started shorter in the [Golden] Slipper and ... they missed The Everest because of this race, and to get the chocolates like he did, superb, outstanding.
"I am absolutely delighted for him. Delighted for the connection.
"They've got an absolute star in their hands. He's one of the nicest I've sat on for a while."
