Yet another stellar season for super Savabeel

What another sensational season it’s been for Savabeel with the super sire’s remarkable achievements unparalleled in the modern era.

Waikato Stud’s all-conquering son of Zabeel has won the Grosvenor Award (Champion New Zealand sire) for five consecutive seasons as well as four Dewar Awards and four Centaine Awards and is nearing 100 stakes winners, including 18 Group One winners.

The Grosvenor Award is based on progeny earnings, the Dewar Award on combined Australian and New Zealand progeny earnings and the Centaine Award is for combined progeny earnings worldwide.

An ultra-consistent stakes producer, Savabeel has the highest lifetime stakes-winners-to-runners percentage of all active stallions standing in New Zealand and Australia with a strike-rate of 10.4%.

He was also the leading New Zealand-based sire on the Australian Sires’ Premiership, New Zealand’s leading sire of two and three-year-olds and the leading source of winners with 22 in Hong Kong.

“Savabeel has done it again, what a huge season it has been for him across the board,” Mark Chittick said.

“We are so proud of the results achieved by our stallions, and the exciting foundation they have laid down for the future.”

Savabeel delivered three individual Group One winners last season – Shillelagh, Savvy Coup and Nicoletta successful respectively in the Empire Rose Stakes, the Livamol Classic and the New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes.

He produced 18 stakes winners during the 2018-19 season, including Supera, Queen of Diamonds, Aotea Lad, Rattan, Sword Of Osman, The Chosen One, Prince Jabeel, Love Affair, Concert Hall, Preditor, Elate, Exuberant, Probabeel, Kaonic and Peaceful.

His popularity at Karaka was again emphasised – he was the leading sire for the fifth consecutive year – when his son out of Make a Wish topped New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Yearling Sale in 2019 when Te Akau principal David Ellis secured the colt for $1.4 million.

“He was on everyone’s list, and he was probably the best athlete I’ve seen at Karaka for 10 years or more,” Ellis said.

“We’ve trained Savabeel’s two Group One-winning colts, Embellish and Hall Of Fame, and we’ve won 12 stakes races with his progeny in recent seasons.

“I can see him running in some of our good two-year-old races, then training on and being a lovely three-year-old for races like the 2000 Guineas.

“He could even run in the million-dollar Karaka Million 2YO, then be back the next year for the million-dollar Karaka Million 3YO.”

Savabeel’s yearlings averaged more than NZ$300,000 across all Australasian yearlings sales while demand remained high for his daughters as broodmare prospects.

Among them was  Savvy Coup, who sold for $1 million at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Sale to Coolmore Australia and will visit American Triple Crown winner Justify (USA) this spring.

Savabeel’s stunning record of achievement extends to an impressive 70 per cent winners to runners ratio and a terrific 10.8 per cent stakes winners to runners ratio – both statistics achieved in the 2018-19 season.