Horse racing: Savalgee makes perfect start to three-year-old season, takes out Poverty Bay event

Savaglee. Photo / Kenton Wright.

Savaglee made the perfect start to his three-year-old season at Taupo when taking out the Poverty Bay Turf Club 3YO event yesterday.

The son of Savabeel jumped well from barrier two and quickly settled outside leader When Stars Align. Savaglee continued to eke into his foes’ advantage and hit the lead with 200m to go, and he continued to build on his advantage to score a 1-1/4 length victory over race favourite Super Photon.

Purchased by The Oaks Stud General Manager Rick Williams out of Waikato Stud’s 2023 New Zealand Bloodstock Book 1 Yearling Sale draft for $400,000 on behalf of farm principal Dick Karreman, Savaglee performed well as a juvenile last season, winning two of his seven starts for trainers Michael Moroney and Pam Gerard, including the Group 3 Matamata Slipper.

“I loved him (as a yearling), but I said (to Karreman) I would rather buy a filly for $400,000 and not a colt, but he said to buy a colt for a change,” Williams said.

“It put a bit of pressure on, but winning a Group Three took a bit of pressure off. He is heading in the right direction.”

Now in the sole care of Gerard, Savaglee was runner-up in a 900m trial behind Yaldi at Te Rapa earlier this month, which gave jockey Sam Spratt plenty of confidence heading into Wednesday.

“He trialled up pretty well, so I was fairly confident,” she said. “He was awesome, he settled beautifully, never got aggressive and he kicked away really easily. In the last 100m he had his ears pricked and was having a real good gawk around.”

Williams has been impressed with the way Savaglee has matured into his three-year-old season a”He will go to the El Roca (Listed, 1200m) and Hawke’s Bay Guineas (Group 2, 1400m), and you might have one more or no more (starts) depending on how your horse is. It is the proven path and that is what we will be doing.”

In the day’s other feature speed freak filly Alabama Lass started her season with a huge win in the Taupo Pak ‘N Save 3-yo.

Alabama Lass jumped well and was taken straight to the front of the small but select field by jockey Sam Spratt and she didn’t relinquish her advantage, running out a 3-1/2 length victor, albeit racing very greenly down the Taupo straight.

“She went up the straight like a drunken sailor,” Spratt quipped. “I think it was just because she was doing it so easy, she was doing it on her ear and got a bit lost. If she had a rail to follow it would have been much better because she has never done that before.

“She was brilliant and did it easy and it was a smart field, she has got huge improvement.”

Co-trainer Ken Kelso was just as pleased with the win and said she will take plenty of improvement from the run as they head towards her first major target of the spring, the Group 3 HBPB Breeders’ ASSN Gold Trail Stakes (1200m) at Hastings on September 7.

“You have got to be happy, she has won nicely,” he said. “She has run around a little bit but that is only her third start, so she is only going to keep improving.

“She will go from here to Hastings for the Gold Trail and then we will pick a plan from there. How far she will get you don’t know, you just take one step at a time.”

Michael Guerin wrote his first nationally published racing articles while still in school and started writing about horse racing and the gambling industry for the Herald as a 20-year-old in 1990. He became the Herald’s racing editor in 1995 and covers the world’s biggest horse racing carnivals.