Speedy Son of Savabeel Looks the Real Deal in Guineas

New Zealand’s leading 3-year-old Savaglee was due to touch down in Melbourne on the afternoon of Feb. 27 ahead of his bid to become the second Kiwi raider in three years to prize the Australian Guineas (G1) crown from the grasp of the locals. 

The bay colt will launch a hit-and-run mission on the AU$2 million, 1,600-meter (about one-mile) feature, a race won in breathtaking fashion in 2023 by his compatriot Legarto, whose jockey Mick Dee is tasked with repeating the task on Savaglee March 1 at Flemington Racecourse.

Savaglee has cut a swath through the domestic ranks over the past 12 months, winning the 2024 Matamata Slipper (G3) as a juvenile before stringing together four straight group triumphs as a 3-year-old, including a 2 3/4-length stroll in the New Zealand Two Thousand Guineas (G1) last spring.

That performance at his first start over the mile cemented the colt’s future career as a stallion at The Oaks Stud, whose general manager Rick Williams parted with NZ$400,000 at the 2023 New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale to secure the colt from the draft of his former employers at Waikato Stud. 

The Oaks team is content to race him on as a 4-year-old before Savaglee joins a roster which includes the likes of group 1 victors U S Navy Flag , The Chosen One, and Darci Brahma —who finished runner-up behind Apache Cat in the 2006 Australian Guineas—on their Cambridge property.  

Williams and company have enjoyed previous success on Australian soil, with Antrim Coast, sired by The Oaks Stud’s stallion Roc de Cambes, carrying their royal blue and white silks to victory in the Alister Clark Stakes (G2) at The Valley last year, where he was partnered by Dee.  

But from both a financial and prestige viewpoint, there is far more riding on Savaglee’s Australian debut at Flemington, where victory would instantly ensure a significant increase on his future service fee.   

“It’s difficult to line up the form lines but he would have to be in the top three or four chances,” said Williams, who cited Savaglee’s dynamic gate speed as one of his many strengths.

“A win in the Guineas would be a huge addition to his CV, all we’ve done since he started showing promise is to try to build his profile as a stallion. He’s a very sound horse so we’ll race him on next season and I’m sure there will be other opportunities for him further down the line, but clearly if he could knock off the Guineas it would take some of the pressure off.”    

Savaglee’s trainer Pam Gerard will head across the Tasman Sea from her Matamata base to oversee the colt’s final preparations, before dropping in at the Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale beginning March 2. Should Savaglee become the first son of Savabeel  to win Victoria’s premier 3-year-old mile contest, Gerard’s 10% trainer’s cut could come in very handy at the sale.