Super Savabeel dominates at Trentham

Gallant mare Provence completed another red-letter day for multiple champion sire Savabeel at Trentham on Saturday.

His daughter earned top honours in the Gr.1 Thorndon Mile off the back of his high-class son Savaglee’s (ex Glee) rout of his three-year-old rivals in the Gr.2 Levin Classic with Sam Spratt riding the pair to a memorable double.

The Stephen Marsh-trained Provence provided Waikato Stud marvel Savabeel with an extraordinary 35^th individual winner at the elite level and 99th Group winner.

“She’s a quality mare, I remember Stephen saying to me after a gallop in the early stages of this preparation that she’ll win a Group 1 this season and she’s proved him right,” stable representative Dylan Johnson said.

“She’s continued to come through the grades. She was unlucky in the Rich Hill and she’s just kept progressing and is such a tough, genuine racehorse.”

Provence settled in fifth spot on the fence before angling into the clear 600 metres from home and finished bravely in the run home.

“I was happy with the position we ended up in, and then we got dragged into it beautifully at the right time,” Spratt said.

“I thought she’d win easily when she ranged up alongside them but had to really fight at the end. She did it really well.”

Bred by Milan Park’s Tony Rider who races the mare with the Social Racing Ellerslie Winners Circle Syndicate, she is out of the Flying Spur mare Sombeuil and is an older sister of NZB Kiwi contender Damask Rose.

Provence is the 20th Group 1-winning daughter of nine-time Champion Sire Savabeel, whose daughters have in turn produced five Group 1 winners: Icebath (Gr.1 Empire Rose Stakes), Never Been Kissed (Gr.1 Flight Stskes), Warmonger (Gr.1 Queensland Derby), Beauty Eternal (Gr.1 Hong Kong Champions Mile) and Savatoxl (Gr.1 Goodwood Handicap).