Flood of Waikato Stud success continues
Group One wins on successive weekends by three progeny of the champion sire Savabeel have only served to underline the value of the Waikato Stud stallion to racing and breeding in this part of the world.
Savabeel had a tally of 12 individual Group One winners to the end of October, then on the first day of the Melbourne Cup carnival his daughter Shillelagh won the Gr. 1 Kennedy Mile.
A week later the focus switched back to the local scene when Savabeel colt Embellish lined up as the favourite for the Gr. 1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas at Riccarton and home he rolled.
Last Saturday it was the turn of Savabeel filly Hasahalo as she completed a classic double with a runaway win in the New Zealand 1000 Guineas, taking her sire’s tally to 15 Group One winners.
Whereas Shillelagh was bred by Christopher Grace, a shareholder in Savabeel, both Embellish and Hasahalo were bred and reared at Waikato Stud before being sold at the 2015 National Yearling Sales.
Embellish, in fact, fetched a record price for any yearling sold by the Matamata nursery, being knocked to Te Akau principal David Ellis at $775,000.
Hasahalo was also bought by one of the country’s major syndicators, Go Racing, at a relatively cheaper $110,000, and like her male contemporary, is now worth considerably more than her purchase price.
While celebrating Savabeel’s three latest Group One winners along with other major spring successes, Waikato Stud owner Mark Chittick hasn’t lost sight of the overall significance of what Savabeel is achieving.
‘‘It’s important not only for us but for our clients and the whole New Zealand industry that we have a stallion like Savabeel,’’ he says.
‘‘A dozen years ago when we put the syndicate together, Savabeel was the first stallion to be syndicated for $10 million in New Zealand.
‘‘That’s a massive commitment by us and the people who came on board, so to see what he’s achieved and the success he’s brought everyone, that’s just so satisfying.’’
Waikato Stud’s latest big weekend wasn’t only about another Group One winner for Savabeel.
At the major northern meeting, homebred Ocean Emperor stepped up to the big-time for victory in the Gr. 2 Tauranga Stakes.
While he’s by Zabeel, the bottom half of his pedigree is all Waikato, with his dam Tootsie a Group Three-winning daughter of Pins and granddam Hyades by O’Reilly.