Savabeel 3YO Stakes Strong Derby Claim

A daring ride by Brad Rawiller has confirmed the Peter Moody-trained Brambles is the horse to beat in the Gr 1 Queensland Derby. The WS-bred and sold son of Savabeel trounced his rivals when he led all the way to win the Gr 3 Grand Prix Stakes at Doomben on Saturday.

The further the field got into the classic lead-up, the tighter Rawiller turned the screws with Brambles gradually extending his lead. With 800 metres to run they had established a two length break and all of his rivals were struggling to stay in touch. Brambles was clear into the straight and cruised home by a wide margin from his stablemate Vateuvi and the Roger James-trained Red Shift..

“It wasn’t the straight out plan but I knew with the barrier [7] we drew that I could end out in front,” Rawiller told Sky Racing World. “To his credit we didn’t just sit there and make it a sit and sprint, we made it a race and he was too good. I let him slide from the 600 [metres] to make every post a winner and thankfully he stayed on strong.”

Brambles was in WS’s 2010 Premier Sale line-up at Karaka in 2010 and was bought by Moody, who also bought his brother earlier this year, for $100,000.