Helsinki opens winning account

With a step up in distance, Helsinki shed her maiden tag when she broke through in the concluding race on the card at Ruakaka on Wednesday afternoon.

The Savabeel 4-year-old had acquitted herself well in strong Group company last season, and included among her efforts was a runner-up finish in the Listed Trevor Eagle Memorial at Te Rapa.

Her form subsequently tapered off for trainers Peter and Dawn Williams and the Waikato Stud graduate was given a break.

Helsinki was a fresh-up second to open her campaign before an unplaced run, but she showed she was firmly back on track with a front-running victory today.

She sprinted at the top of the straight for her rider, Vinnie Colgan and kept on to open her winning account.

Helsinki was purchased out of Waikato Stud’s 2019 draft at Karaka for $525,000 and is raced in a partnership that includes great friends to the farm, Chris and Sarah Green. She is a daughter of the O’Reilly mare Rush, who was again covered by Savabeel in 2021.

The dam is a half-sister to the G3 Thoroughbred Club S. winner and G1 Ascot Vale S. runner-up Splashing Out. She has produced the black-type winners Splurge, Shopaholic and Packing Pins, a family made famous by the multiple Group 1 winner and top-flight producer Sacred Falls.