Stakes goals on Savabeel mare’s radar

Talented Savabeel mare Belle Of The Ball continues to make stylish progress toward a spring black-type target.

The four-year-old broke her maiden with a minimum of ease earlier this month on the synthetic track at Riccarton and she returned there on Wednesday afternoon to make it two on the bounce over 1400 metres.

Belle Of The Ball settled third last before rider Joe Kamaruddin urged her forward 600 metres from home and they sailed down the outside to score with a minimum of fuss.

“She’s a really progressive mare. We’ve come back down to the South Island with the view of getting her rating high enough to contest the Listed Spring Classic on October 22 at Riccarton,” trainer Mark Walker said.

“It was a lovely ride by Joe (Kamaruddin). She’s a mare that we’ve always had a lot of time for and she’s really starting to come of age.”

Belle Of The Ball, who finished runner-up in last season’s Listed Warstep S., was a $300,000 New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale buy for Te Akau’s David Ellis.

She is the first live foal of the Duke Of Marmalade mare Lady Tatia, who is out of a sister to the multiple Group 1 winner Shogun Lodge.

His half-brothers Singing The Blues and Referral were the respective winners of the G1 Oakleigh Plate and George Ryder S.

Lady Tatia delivered a sister to Belle Of The Ball last season and is again in foal to Savabeel.