Stopover continued what is shaping up as a big season for Savabeel when he won at Oamaru on Friday. The South Island based colt joins Flightoftheconcord (Avondale) and Fabulist (Echuca) as an early-season winner for the Waikato Stud sire.
Stopover (3c Savabeel – Logical Lady by Sound Reason) had raced greenly first-up but there were no excuses yesterday when he scored by more than three lengths. He is a younger half-brother to Final Destination (O’Reilly), a G1 winner of the NZ 1000 Guineas and Levin Bayer Classic.
His sire Savabeel is a son of Zabeel and was a G1 winner of the MVRC Cox Plate. “I think he could be the next big stallion for New Zealand behind Sir Tristram and Zabeel,” his former trainer Graeme Rogerson said. “All the top trainers are talking up the Savabeels. He could really be the boom sire at 2010 sales.”
Rogerson trains King Sabeel who won at Rosehill in June and will begin his classic campaign in the G1 Golden Rose (1400m) at Rosehill “Saturday’s race will be a bit short for him, but he is a racehorse and he can run” Rogerson said. “I think Savabeel’s stock will be classic horses and we will set King Sabeel for the Victorian Derby.”
Waikato Stud’s Mark Chittick agrees with Rogerson. “The feedback we’ve received from trainers such as Mick Price, Danny O’Brien, John O’Shea and Michael Kent is that they love them and that the more ground they’re given, the better they’ll be.”
Savabeel’s leading first-crop two year-olds are ready to return to racing. My Emotion was his first winner when she prevailed in the G3 VRC Thoroughbred Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield. Trained by Michael Kent, she is back in work and has reportedly come back better than ever.
His Kiwi filly Queen Sabeel was a Listed winner of the Northland Breeders Stakes at Ruakaka and she is also prepared by Rogerson. She will target the NZ Filly of the Year Series prior to arriving in Australian for the 2010 autumn carnivals.
Savabeel will stand for a NZ$20,000 (+ gst), at Waikato Stud this year and his book will be capped at 130 mares.