Top Savabeel mare retired
7 November 2016
Savabeel’s outstanding daughter Lucia Valentina has run her last race. A leg injury has forced her retirement and she will now begin the second phase of her career with a booking to the champion sire Fastnet Rock.
Raced by Wellingtonian Lib Petagna, the daughter of Savabeel won the Vinery Stud Stakes and the Turnbull Stakes in 2014 and earlier this year she also claimed the Queen Elizabeth Stakes for trainer Kris Lees. Lucia Valentina won her first two races, including the Gr.3 Wellington Stakes from Stephen Marsh’s stable before she crossed the Tasman.
A $60,000 yearling at Karaka, Lucia Valentina is out of the Montjeu mare Staryn Glen, also the dam of the Gr 3 Manawatu Classic winner Malandrino, who has continued his career as Best Show in Hong Kong. It is also the family of the Gr 1 Hong Kong Sprint winner All Thrills Too.
Recent News
9 September 2026
The Corner with Garry Chittick
No Corner last week; this week the Annual Thoroughbred Racing Awards night certainly deserves acknowledgment. It is the second of two nights of measurement of Thoroughbred achievements for the year, with the first focussing on our Breeders’ awards.
Read More
9 September 2026
Savabeel’s Group 1 daughter Belle Cheval retired
Belle Cheval, by champion sire Savabeel, enjoyed a stellar career: placing in the NZ 1000 Guineas, winning the Almanzor Trophy and Uncle Remus Stakes, finishing second in The Kiwi, then claiming Group 1 glory in Australia’s Vinery Stud Stakes before retiring to broodmare duties.
Read More