Savabeel mare lights up Ellerslie with inaugural NZB Kiwi win

The star of Savabeel continues to shine brighter with every passing weekend of racing, and this weekend was no exception.

His daughter, Provence, added a second Group 1 victory to her record with a dominant win in the Gr.1 HKJC World Pool New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes, while three races later, her full sister, Damask Rose, claimed the inaugural NZB Kiwi, the richest race for three-year-olds in the southern hemisphere.

Both are bred by Waikato Stud’s great friend and supporter Tony Rider of Milan Park being out of the Flying Spur mare Sombreuil.

Much of the pre-race discussion focused on the Australian-trained contenders Evaporate, Public Attention and Perfumist. However, it was fitting that the first-ever winner of this historic race was a New Zealand-trained filly, prepared by Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson at Matamata representing the slot of Te Akau.

Having already won the Karaka Millions 3YO in January, Damask Rose claimed a lucrative bonus for her NZB Kiwi victory. This win also secured her a place in November’s Golden Eagle, a AU$10 million (NZ$11 million) feature for four-year-olds. Australian jockey Blake Shinn was full of praise for her performance.

“A really good horse, I rode her in the Karaka Millions as a two-year-old, she won as a three-year-old and it’s really special to win this inaugural race and to win for Te Akau and the team,” Shinn said.

“An electric turn of foot, a real desire to savage the line, take the gap,” he said.

“Pressure was starting to encroach on top of her on the rail there, but she pinned her ears back.”