Savabeel colt lifts Derby profile

23 February 2016

Savabeel’s son What’s The Story boosted his Group One hopes with an outstanding effort at Ellerslie on Saturday. The three-year-old showed his quality when he overcame a chequered run to beat the older horses in his middle distance debut.

The colt came off the canvas after he was involved in a skirmish 600 from home to produce a sustained finish for his second career win. “He lost quite a bit of ground so to get up was a massive performance,” trainer Stephen McKee said.

“I’ve got a lot of confidence in the horse and he’s put his hand up as a Derby type. He’s fit so I’ll just keep him ticking over – we’ve come in through the back door so we’ll see how we go.”

What’s The Story’s New Zealand Derby odds were immediately slashed from $51 to $18 following his latest performance. An $80,000 Karaka yearling, he is out of a Carnegie mare who is a half-sister to the multiple Group One winner Tall Poppy.

The Corner with Garry Chittick

Another year nearly passed, I could never work it out when my parents would express the view on how the years passed so quickly. When young, one always looked forward to the next happening; it seemed we waited forever. Now I dwell on the past and want it to last forever.

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