87th Stakes Winner for SAVABEEL as ELATE Claims NZ OAKS Prelude

03 Feb 19

Well-bred Savabeel filly ELATE from High Chaparral mare High Joy, scored the first stakes win of her promising career in Saturday’s Listed $55,000 FastTrack Insurance Oaks Prelude (1800m) at New Plymouth and has announced herself as a genuine leading contender for next month’s Gr1 NZ Oaks .

A $270,000 purchase at the 2017 Premier Sale, Elate had already shown plenty of talent this season with a maiden win and a second placing in the Group 3 Eulogy Stakes (1550m) at Awapuni. She had also made a strong late run to finish just behind the placegetters in last month’s Group 2 Royal Stakes (2000m).

In the Listed Fasttrack Insurance Oaks Prelude (1800m) at New Plymouth on Saturday, Elate was caught out three-wide in the early stages of the race after a number of her rivals engaged in a speed battle for early supremacy. Jockey Cameron Lammas was not content with his position mid-race and pushed on with his charge to take the lead down the back straight.

As soon as Elate took over the lead, the race was over as the pair did not relinquish their advantage for the remainder of the contest. Elate had a challenger in Misha’s Star as the field went into the turn but Elate shrugged her off by the time the field turned into the straight.

Those chasing tried hard to catch her in the final 200 metres but it was in vain as Elate went on to win by 1-1/4 lengths over Clementina (NZ) (by Savabeel) with a nose back to Jakkalbomb (NZ) (by Jakkalberry) in third.

ELATE winning the Oaks Prelude

Elate wasn’t sent out favourite by punters, but Roger James said the Group 3 placed filly had put in a deceptively good unplaced performance last-start in the Gr.2 Royal Stakes (2000m) at Ellerslie on New Year’s Day.

“Her form didn’t look good, if you looked at the numbers, but she actually ran a quicker 600m and 400m than the winner of the Railway last start, so her run was very solid there,” James said.

“Cameron took bad luck out of the equation. He made a decision that can go either way when you do that and I’m pleased to say it went the right way for us. “We have got a lovely set of owners (Colin and Helen Litt) and they are very supportive of the stable. To do that (for them) is quite special.”

Lammas was pleased with the win and said he had no option but to press forward with Elate after being posted three-wide. “They got to the front and then stacked up and I thought they were going too slow,” he said.

“I was wide and had no option but to go forward. She was happy once she got there (the front) and set a nice clip and kept kicking.

“Her last few runs have been very good and it looked like she was hitting the line strongly and today she did it properly.”

James, who went to $270,000 to purchase Elate at the 2017 New Zealand Bloodstock Premier Yearling Sale said they would now head towards the Gr.1 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai New Zealand Oaks (2400m) next month with their filly.

Elate is now one of the favourites for the Group 1 New Zealand Oaks at Trentham on March 16.

Elate continued her sire Savabeel’s dominance this racing season, with her victory extending his stakes win tally this season to 16 and his overall tally to 87 Individual Stakes Winners.

Whilst Savabeel also recorded the quinella when his other daughter Clementina ran on strongly for second place.

Savabeel winning the Cox Plate

Pedigree Notes:

Bred to be at her prime as a 3yo over 2400m, the filly is living up to her pedigree page. Elate is the second foal from the unraced High Joy, a daughter of champion sire High Chaparral. High Joy’s first foal is Diamondsandbubbles, a winning daughter of Commands.

High Joy’s dam is the Group 1 placed Endless Joy (Centaine), who is also the dam of Listed winning Emperor Bonaparte (Montjeu) and grand-dam of Group 2-placed Slimline (Castledale).

Elate’s third dam is the dam of Australian Horse of the Year Bonecrusher (Pag-Asa).

High Joy had an Ocean Park (NZ) filly named High Emocean in 2016 that was sold for NZ$80,000 last year and her 2017 Darci Braham (NZ) colt brought NZ$150,000 at Karaka earlier this week.

High Chaparral is a son of Champion sire Sadler’s Wells and this cross has an affinity with Savabeel.

From 81 Runners Bred on the Savabeel x Sadler’s Wells Cross:

54 Winners / 10 Stakes Winners / 8 Stakes Placed

Stakes Winners : Runners = 12.3%

Stakes Winners : Winners = 18.5%

Stakes Horses : Runners = 22.2%

Stakes Horses : Winners = 33.4%

The 10 Stakes Winners on the cross include Gr1 winners Lucia Valantina and Hall Of Fame, Gr2 Winners Savvy Nature, Nurse Kitchen, Gr3 Winners Eclaire Big Bang, My Sabeel, Addictive Nature and LR winners Grand Chancellor, Queen Sabeel and now – Elate.

To date just 4 named foals have been bred by Savabeel out of a daughter of High Chaparral and the cross looks to be made of gold.

4 named foals = 4 raced: 3 Winners including now Elate who became Savabeel’s 87th Stakes Winner and also includes Savvy Oak who was unlucky when 4th in the Moonee Valley Vase Gr2 over 2040m during the Spring.

HISTORY SET TO REPEAT

Last week at the NZ Bloodstock Premier Yearling Sale at Karaka, Dynamic Syndications went over to buy a colt to aim to win the Classic races like the Guineas / Derbies / Cups and the Plate.

We went over to buy the best son of SAVABEEL we could find but he had to be bred on one of two crosses being either Sadler’s Wells (10 Stakes Winners) or O’Reilly (12 Stakes Winners).

These were the only mating patterns we were there to buy as these are the crosses that have identified best with Savabeel to produce 3yo middle distance candidates.

We achieved our result purchasing Lot 143 by SAVABEEL x LADY CHAPARRAL (by High Chaparral – a son of Sadler’s Wells) for $190,000 + GST.

Our new colt - SAVABEEL x LADY CHAPARRAL

As they say – timing is everything.

Until yesterday, the exact cross hadn’t produced a Stakes Winner from its 4 runners but now it has an 1800m Stakes Winner who has one hoof on the Gr1 NZ Oaks (2400m) trophy next month and a repeat of yesterday’s performance will make it near impossible for her peers.

We struck early on Day 2 and just 3 Savabeel’s later out came Lot 192, the sale topper at $1.4 million for the Savabeel x Make A Wish colt and after that, the prices on the good Savabeel yearlings skyrocketed and you needed very deep pockets to buy one that had passed both x-rays and videoscope.

The colt we purchased was from the excellent racemare LADY CHAPARRAL who won 4 races and was placed on 10 occasions. She was a Gr3 Winner, twice Gr3 placed and ran 4th in a Gr1 and a Gr3.

LADY CHAPARRAL winning her Gr3 Tauranga Stakes 1600m defeating (King) Mufhasa

She ran in 5 Gr1 races, 5 Gr2 races, 7 Gr3 races and 7 Listed races during her career.

LADY CHAPARRAL is the half-sister to Champion 3yo Stayer in NZ and NZ Bloodstock Filly Of The Year BRAMBLE ROSE – NZ Oaks Gr1.

BRAMBLE ROSE is the Dam of 3 Stakes Winners: TANGLED, SEBROSE, MULES CREEK.

Our colt’s 2nd Dam IMAGES won 3 races and is a half-sister to Outstanding Gr1 winner THE FILBERT and Gr3 Winner RED HAWK.

Our colt is being trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott.

Details of our colt are on our website.

SAVABEEL

Four-time Champion New Zealand sire, commenced stud duties in New Zealand in 2005

Champion NZ Sire in 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18, second in 2012-13, third in 2013-14.

Leading NZ Sire (Aust. & NZ figures combined) in 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18.

Leading NZ Sire (worldwide) in 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18.

Leading NZ Sire by Winners 2016-17, 2017-18.

Leading NZ Sire of 3YOs in 2017-18.

The sire of 17 Group One winners

Service Fee Private

Runners : 810 - Winners : 560 - Wins : 1701 - Stakes Winners : 87 - Stakes Placed : 57

Going from strength to strength with a succession of new stakes winners last season, champion sire Savabeel claimed his fourth straight New Zealand Sires’ Premiership, his third consecutive Dewar Award (combined Australian and New Zealand progeny earnings), his third Centaine Award (combined progeny earnings worldwide) and he is was leading New Zealand based stallion on the Australian General Sires’ Premiership.

Savabeel has proved himself to be one of the most versatile stallions in Australasia with Group One winners at two years over 1200 metres, three years over 1600 – 2400 metres and older horses who have been successful at the highest level over a variety of distances.

Sword of Osman, Embellish, Hasahalo, Savvy Coup, Shillelagh and Kawi achieved those feats respectively in the 2017-18 season to take Savabeel’s number of Group One winners to 17.

Savabeel has notched up so far a total of 87 Stakes Winners and 57 Stakes Placed with recent success includes siring the New Zealand Group One Guineas double with Embellish and Hasahalo and his daughter Savvy Coup won the Group One New Zealand Oaks last season, resulting in Savabeel siring the winners of three of the four main New Zealand Group One Classic races.

Last season Savabeel added to his growing tally of Stakes Winners with Group One winners Savvy Coup, Hasahalo, Embellish, Sword of Osman, Shillelagh and Kawi as well as Group winners Savapinski, Supera, Prince Jabeel, Nicoletta, Coldplay, Splurge, Addictive Nature, Royal Success, Queen of Diamonds, Love Affair, Preditor, Aotea Lad and Clarify plus Listed winners Probabeel ((R) Karaka Million), Kaonic, Exuberant, The Chosen One, Grazia, Santa Catarina, Savaheat and Peaceful.

Savabeel was syndicated by Dynamic Syndications boss Dean Watt as a yearling and it proved a masterstroke as his class as a racehorse was evident when he defeated 9 Group One winners in taking out the 2004 W.S. Cox Plate and that level of achievement has followed through to both the yearling sales ring and progeny record on the racecourse.

His success shows he is on a trajectory to be superior to his own Champion Sire Zabeel who in turn was the heir apparent to Sir Tristram before him. And like his sire and grandsire, his progeny display the toughness and durability to win over all distances, at all ages from two years to eight years and, incredibly, Savabeel has passed Zabeel for the number of Stakes winners sired at the same stage of their careers.

With recent successes, Savabeel is now achieving a Stakes winners-to-runners ratio at 10.62 per cent and has thus only one sire Redoute’s Choice at 11.8 per cent has a higher strike rate.

Behind Savabeel sits Snitzel 10.1 per cent, Fastnet Rock 8.8%, I Am Invincible 8.2%, Exceed And Excel 8.1% More Than Ready 8.0%, Not A Single Doubt 7.7%, Lonhro 6.7% the second sire currently standing in Australasia to reach that level of excellence.

Savabeel also boasts an enviable winners-from-runners ratio that constantly sits at the 70 per cent mark.