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Schnell Meister (, foaled 23 March 2018) is a German-bred Japanese-trained Thoroughbred retired racehorse. He showed promise as a two-year-old in 2020 when he won both of his races. In the following spring he finished second in the Yayoi Sho before winning the Grade 1 NHK Mile Cup.
He was from the third crop of foals sired by Kingman who was named Cartier Horse of the Year in 2014 when he won the Irish 2,000 Guineas, St James's Palace Stakes, Sussex Stakes and Prix Jacques Le Marois. Schnell Meister was the first foal of his dam Serienholde, a top class racemare who won the Preis der Diana as a three-year-old in 2016. She was a descendant of the German broodmare Suleika (foaled 1954) who was the ancestor of numerous major winners including Slip Anchor, Manhattan Cafe and Buena Vista.
On 9 May Schnell Meister was partnered with Lemaire when he was one of eighteen three-year-olds to contest the 26th edition of the Grade 1 NHK Mile Cup over 1600 metres at Tokyo Racecourse. He went off the 2.7/1 second favourite behind Grenadier Guards in a field which also included Bathrat Leon (winner of the New Zealand Trophy), Ho O Amazon (Arlington Cup), Rooks Nest (Falcon Stakes), Pixie Knight (Shinzan Kinen) and Shock Action (Niigata Nisai Stakes). Schnell Meister settled in mid-division as Pixie Knight set the pace from Ho O Amazon and Grenadier Guards and turned into the straight in ninth place. In the closing stages he produced a sustained run on the outside and caught the filly Songline on the line to win by a nose. Grenadier Guards was two and a half lengths back in third to complete a 1-2-3 for Sunday Racing. Lemaire, who had just marked his 37th Grade 1 race win in Japan, commented; "He took some time to get into gear but eventually got into a good rhythm and responded strongly in the critical stages... There is still a lot of greenness in Schnell Meister and a lot of room for improvement but once he's established himself physically, he should be able to handle the best." Schnell Meister was then sent to the Yasuda Kinen, where he finished a close third behind Danon Kingly and Gran Alegria.
After a summer break, Schnell Meister was entered in to the Mainichi Okan, where he beat Danon Kingly by a head, earning him his second grade race win. The horse was then sent to the Mile Championship but lost to Gran Alegria by 3/4 of a length.
After a summer break, he was entered in to the Mainichi Okan, where he came in third behind and Songline, and the following month he ran the Mile Championship, where he finished at 7th place. This would become his last race, as Sunday Racing announced several days after the race that both he and Songline would retire at the same time.
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