Sangster on ground breaking G1 Melbourne Cup Mission

Savabeel gelding Sangster is on a ground breaking mission to become the first horse to land the Gr.1 Victory Derby – Auckland Cup-Melbourne Cup treble.

As it stands, the triple Gr.1 star has already set the benchmark as the first horse in history to land the Gr.1 Victoria Derby – Gr.1 Auckland Cup double.

According to information extracted from Arion Pedigrees, there have been 15 horses to achieve the Victoria Derby – Melbourne Cup double. Since 1965 these horses have comprised: Lantern (AUS) 1861, Chester (AUS) 1874, Grand Flaneur (AUS) 1877, Martini Henry (NZ) 1880, Newhaven (AUS) 1893, Poseidon (AUS) 1903, Prince Foote (AUS) 1906, Spearfelt (AUS) 1921,Trivalve (AUS) 1924, Phar Lap (NZ) 1926, Hall Mark (AUS) 1930, Skipton (AUS) 1938, Comic Court (AUS) 1945, Delta (AUS) 1946 and Efficient (NZ) 2003.

Endearing him to the task, Sangster’s paternal grandsire Zabeel is the sire of Jezabeel, who is the only horse to have won the Auckland Cup/ Melbourne Cup double to date and he is also the sire of Efficient, who achieved the Victoria Derby/ Melbourne Cup double above.

Recent News
24 June 2026

Savabeel, from furthering a legacy to creating his own – The Straight

A true Australasian success story on the track and in the breeding shed, the influence of Savabeel, who died last week aged 24, will be felt for years to come on both sides of the …

Read More
23 June 2026

Sav’s final resting place

“I’ve got a couple of very special bottles of wine that I’ve had for a number of years, and usually they would have been opened on a celebration, but I thought it was very pertinent, and well, it was a celebration, it was a celebration of his life,” Mark Chittick told The Straight.

Read More