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Te Akau-raced daughter of Savabeel lands second career Group 2
Having been beaten into second in the Karaka Million 3YO Classic (RL, 1600m), Amarelinha (3 f Savabeel - Hopscotch by O'Reilly) got her New Zealand Oaks (Gr 1, 2400m) campaign back on track when she bounced back to her best when she captured the David & Karyn Ellis Fillies Classic (Gr 2, 2000m) at Te Rapa.
Trained by Jamie Richards for the Te Akau Hopskip’n’jump Syndicate, Amarelinha burst past her rivals, eventually beating the fast-finishing Slave To Love (Savabeel) four lengths, wile Needle And Thread (Makfi) was another neck behind in third.
“She is a really exciting filly and one we have held in high regard right from the time that David bought her at Karaka,” Richards said.
“She reminded us a lot of Probabeel and we didn’t race her as a two-year-old, mainly due to copping COVID-19 at the back end of the season.
“She has more than made up for that this time in, as that was a pretty exciting win.”
Amarelinha is nominated for the New Zealand Oaks, but Richards is undecided whether that is where she will be heading.
“We’ll have a team talk (about the Oaks),” Richards said.
“Mark has won an Oaks, but I haven’t so there is plenty to think about there, so I imagine our Monday team talk will be a little bit longer than usual.”
The victory was Amarelinha’s second at Group Two level having taken out the Eight Carat Classic (Gr 2, 1600m) at Ellerslie on Boxing Day, with the filly now having won three of her 5 starts and over NZ$264,000 in prize-money.
Purchased by Ellis for NZ$300,000 at Book 1 of the 2019 New Zealand Bloodstock Karaka National Yearling Sale, the filly is out of unraced O’Reilly (Last Tycoon) mare Hopscotch, meaning the filly is bred on the same cross as 20 stakes winners, headed by four Group 1 winners; Costume, Diademe, Savaria and Embellish.
Hopscotch herself is a half-sister to multiple Group 1 winner Metal Bender (Danasinga), while Group 3-winning pair North Pacific (Brazen Beau) and Missybeel (Savabeel) also feature on the page.
In 2018, Hopscotch produced a filly by Savabeel and she was purchased by Brewers Bloodstock for NZ$190,000 at the New Zealand Bloodstock Karaka National Yearling Sale and in 2019 she foaled another filly by the Waikato Stud-based sire.
Five-time champion sire Savabeel - who stood at Waikato Stud for NZ$100,000 (plus GST) last year - and Amarelinha becomes the fourth stakes winner in seven days for the stallion following up the success of Probabeel, Tabata and Tilianam, while the stallions total stakes winners count stands at 112.