It was special weekend for champion New Zealand sire Savabeel with a new Group One winner at Riccarton and a Group 2 winner on the final day olf Melbourne Cup week at Flemington.
The G1 NZ 2000 Guineas (1600m) was won by Savabeel’s lightly raced three-year-old Embellish, one of three runners for Te Akau Racing trainers Stephen Autridge and Jamie Richards in the $NZ500,000 event.
Embellish (Savabeel x Bling by O’Reilly) defeated stablemate Age Of Fire (Fastnet Rock) by one and a quarter lengths with the Tony Pike-trained Ever Loyal (Sebring) third and the third Autridge and Richards-trained runner Te Akau Shark (Rip Van Winkle) fourth.
Embellish, who was second at Ellerslie in April before being spelled, resumed with a maiden victory at Ruakaka on October 4 before backing it up with victory at Trentham on October 28.
Embellish cost $NZ775,000 at the 2016 NZ Bloodstock Premier Yearling Sale at Karaka for Te Akau Racing principal David Ellis.
Offered by Waikato Studt, the colt was bought as a stallion prospect.
“He’s a very valuable colt and we would love to think that he will be standing at stud in the future,” Ellis said.
Jockey Opie Bosson has now won the 2000 Guineas seven times and it was the sixth for the powerful Te Akau Racing operation.
Richards was on hand for the Riccarton meeting with Autridge at Flemington where there was tragedy for the team with stable star Gingernuts going amiss in a freak mishap prior to the Emirates Stakes.
Ellis said it was an achievement by the Te Akau Racing team to win the Guineas for the sixth time.
“This is one of the iconic races in New Zealand, and to have three runners in the race was a big thrill,” Ellis said.
“To see all three run as they did was an amazing result. I’m just so proud of the whole team, here and at home in Matamata.”
Embellish has now earned $NZ316,060 prize money from his three wins and one placing.
He is one of four winners from the unraced Bling, a sister to the stakes-placed Irish Nova and a half-sister to Listed winner Plaudits (Danasinga).
Embellish her last foal as she died while in foal to Pins in 2015.
Bling’s progeny include G1 NZ Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes winner Diademe (Savabeel) and the stakes-placed Deadly Shadow Savabeel). He is also a half-brother to the Listed-placed Roop All (Pins).
The family includes dual G1 winner Sacred Star (Flying Spur), who is a son of Irish Nova, and G2 QTC Sires’ Produce Stakes winner Star Of The Knight (Sir Tristram) and G3 winners Starcent (Centaine) and Strike The Stars (Savabeel).
Waikato Stud’s history with the family began when Garry Chittick bought Star Of The Knight for $NZ250,000 in foal to Danzatore. Embellish is the highest priced yearling ever sold by the stud.
Embellish is the 14th G1 winner by Savabeel among his 69 individual stakes winners and came a week after his daughter Shillelagh won the G1 Myer Classic at Flemington.
• At Flemington Savabeel’s daughter Savapinski secured her first stakes win in the G2 Matriarch Stakes.
Savapinski capped a remarkable Flemington carnival for co-trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, with the four-year-old their tenth win of the spring in Melbourne and fifth over the four days of Cup Wek at Flemington.
Purchased by Dynamic Syndications and Waterhouse at the 2015 NZ Bloodstock Select Yearling Sale at Karaka Savapinksi (Savabeel x Swarovski by Pins) has now won four of her seven starts for prize money of $267,880.
Savapinksi is a daughter of the unraced Swarovski, a three-quarter sister to the G3-placed Glintz (Pins) and half-sister to Listed winner Glitzy (O’Reilly).
Savapinski Photo by Racing and Sports
Swarovski, the dam of the stakes placed Multifacets (O’Reilly) is also a half-sister to the stakes-placed Samburu (O’Reilly).
Savabeel (Zabeel) was raced by Dynamic Syndications and won the G1 Cox Plate before he was retired to Waikato Stud.
Swarovski has a two-year-old filly by O’Reilly and was due to foal this year to his son Sacred Falls
