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Grandam of Black Caviar at the age of 25.
Scandinavia (Snippets) - who is famed for being the grandam of unbeaten champion mare Black Caviar (Bel Esprit) - has died at the age of 25.
The daughter of Snippets (Lunchtime) won four of her 17 starts, with the highlight of her victories coming when she took out the 1998 QTC Cup (Gr 2, 1200m), while she also took out the Blue Diamond Prelude (Gr 3, 1000m) on her first start and also posted placings in four Group 1 races.
However, while she proved herself a good racehorse, she is perhaps better known for her exploits in the breeding barn.
Scandinavia was the dam of 13 foals, ten of which raced and eight were winners.
Her first foal was placed Danehill (Danzig) mare Danavia, who in turn produced Listed winner Iconic (Bel Esprit). Her second foal - Helsinge - was a result of a mating with Desert Sun (Green Desert), who never raced, but would go on to produce Black Caviar - who was unbeaten in 25 starts, including 15 at the highest-level, while she also the dam of four-time Group 1 winner and now elite level producing stallion All Too Hard (Casino Prince). Helsinge is also the gradam of Listed scorer and Group 1 placed Ole Kirk (Written Tycoon).
In 2002, Scandinavia produced Group 1 winner and now Sun Stud-based sire Magnus (Flying Spur), before foaling Baltics (Fusaichi Pegasus), who is in turn the grandam of Group 3 winner Hanseatic (Street Boss), who finished second in this season's Blue Diamond Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m).
Scandinavia is also the dam of Group 2 winners Wilander (Exceed And Excel) and Scandiva (Fastnet Rock) and Listed winner Arctic Flight (Flying Spur).
Her final foal was Viking Warrior (Fastnet Rock) - who is now racing in Hong Kong - and Scandinavia lived out her final years at Victoria's Dorrington Farm, owned by her breeder, Rob Crabtree.
"You never forget your first … I had a couple of good horses before Scandinavia and a few since, but in my opinion she's changed the landscape of Australian breeding: a 'blue hen' by any definition," Crabtree said.
"She's a Group winner in her own right, she produced Group winners, her daughters have produced Group winners and her granddaughters are now producing Group winners."
Crabtree purchased the unraced mare Song Of Norway (Vain) for $40,000 with Scandinavia in utero.
"She [Song of Norway] had just the three foals for me, but I put her in foal to Western Symphony after Scandinavia was born and she produced the Sydney stakes winner, Midnight Sun," Crabtree said.
"I decided to race Scandinavia in partnership with John Sadler and he trained her to win a Blue Diamond Prelude at two and the Group Two QTC Cup, but she was also 4-times Group 1-placed in the Salinger, Goodwood, Lightning and Newmarket.
"Scandinavia was an even better racehorse than the record suggests – she was beaten a whisker in the Salinger behind 12-time stakes winner, Flavour, and was less than a head away when third to an absolute flying machine, General Nediym, in the Newmarket."
