A Season of Success Continues ...
9 July, 2018
Enjoy the third of our reflections on Te Akau's record-breaking season - the 17 Group and Listed victories recorded established a new season record for the stable ... a game mare doing her part to join the honour roll ...
A plan came to fruition when Grazia (5 m Savabeel - Trocair, by Flying Spur) won the $50,000 Christchurch Casino Spring Classic (Listed, 2000m) in October at Riccarton.
Having ended her previous campaign winning three of her last five starts up to 2100 metres, trainers Stephen Autridge & Jamie Richards, along with syndicate manager David Ellis, earmarked the Spring Classic as a suitable target - a race Te Akau had won in 2013 with Viana (Volksraad) and 2014 with Wolfwhistle (O'Reilly).
Beaten a nose on the same course three weeks prior, after resuming there with a close fifth to stable-mate Imperium (Encosta De Lago) in September, both times over a mile, the step up in distance and carrying minimum weight (53kgs) were key components in the success.
Given a beautiful ride by Sam Weatherley, who recorded his first win for Te Akau earlier on card aboard subsequent Karaka Million (Listed, 1200m) and Sires' Produce Stakes (Gr. 1, 1400m) winner Avantage (Fastnet Rock), Grazia travelled sweetly in fourth, ranged ominously outside the leaders inside the 600m and she gave her rivals a galloping lesson to win by three and a half lengths.
For owners in the Te Akau Grazia Syndicate, the object of the exercise in going south was achieved quite emphatically.
Bred by Christopher Grace at Hunterville, Grazia was purchased as a yearling by David Ellis for what now seems like a song: $100,000, from the draft of Little Avondale Stud, at the 2014 New Zealand Bloodstock Premier Sale.
Trocair progeny have sold up to $340,000 at Karaka.
Now a stakes winning mare by champion sire Savabeel (Zabeel) - on target to claim his fourth consecutive New Zealand Sires' Premiership - is gold itself, but in conjunction with her year older sister Shillelagh (raced by the breeder and trained by Te Akau to win four of her six starts before transferring to Australia) becoming a Group One winner, with earnings over NZ$1m, the worth of Grazia becomes much more substantial.
Their dam, Trocair, has done a sterling job, already leaving five individual winners of 21 races. In addition to Grazia and Shillelagh, her first foal Tullamore (Savabeel) won the 2011 Brisbane Cup (Gr. 2, 2400m); his five wins earning NZ$692,688.
Grace has mated Trocair seven times to Savabeel, currently in foal to him again, and who could question the logic?
The 1995 Golden Slipper (Gr. 1, 1200m) winner Flying Spur (Danehill) is the sire of Trocair. Flying Spur has certainly made his mark as a broodmare sire: his daughters having left 76 stakes winners, including seven Group Ones.
The pedigree holds crosses of both Northern Dancer (Nearctic), one of the most successful sires of the 20th century and winner of both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes in 1964, and Sir Ivor (Sir Gaylord). Winner of the 2000 Guineas and Epsom Derby, ridden in each by Lester Piggott, Sir Ivor is sire of the almighty Sir Tristram, and whether by a stroke of luck, or genius - it seems both were at play - possibly begs another question: How much paler would the New Zealand breeding industry be without the immense influence and breed shaping qualities of Sir Tristram?
On the dam side of Graizia, the presence of Sir Ivor as second dam-sire in Flying Spur presented an ideal opportunity to cross with sons carrying his blood and ultimately the mating with Savabeel has been hard to beat.
Grazia was retired in June 2018 and we look forward to seeing her future off-spring.
