Savy Yong Blonk on Cup Search

Credit - Raceform's Richard Edmunds

After
fast-finishing seconds in both of her previous starts in Cup races, Savy Yong
Blonk will attempt to go one better in Saturday's Gr. 3 SkyCity Hamilton
Waikato Cup.

The daughter
of Savabeel made her Cup debut at Ellerslie at the beginning of this year,
producing a powerful, weaving finish for second behind Platinum Invador in the
Gr. 3 City of Auckland Cup on New Year's Day.

Eleven months
later, and with a pair of impressive lower-level victories in between, Savy
Yong Blonk came with another massive late run for a last-start second in the
Gr. 3 Counties Cup at Pukekohe. She was beaten by her stablemate In A
Twinkling, who is being kept to right-handed racing and will be saved for the
Christmas Carnival at Ellerslie.

“Savy Yonk
Blonk ran a really good race at Counties last start,” trainer Jamie Richards
told RaceForm this week. “She's just been a bit of a victim of bad barriers,
getting a bit too far back and leaving herself too much work to do.

“We're hoping
things might be more in her favour this weekend, so that we can ride her a
little bit closer to the pace. Her work has been very solid leading into
Saturday, as it always is with her, and we're hoping she'll be a strong chance
on Saturday.”

Savy Yong Blonk could provide the second leg of a big black-type double at Te Rapa on Saturday for Richards, who also holds a strong hand in the Gr. 3 J Swap Sprint.

At this time
last year, Prise De Fer was in the midst of a five-race winning streak that
featured black-type triumphs in the Gr. 2 Rich Hill Mile and Gr. 3 Taranaki
Cup.

He has since
proven himself at the highest level, placing in the Gr. 1 Haunui Farm WFA
Classic and Gr. 2 Foxbridge Plate, along with close-up finishes in this
season's Gr. 1 Windsor Park Plate and Livamol Classic.

A planned
start in last weekend's Gr. 1 Captain Cook Stakes was derailed by Wellington's
weather.

“We just had a
few question marks around the weather last week,” Richards said. “In the end
they didn't quite get as much rain as they were expecting and the race was run
on a slow track, but I still think it was the right decision. He hadn't run for
seven weeks and it was just too much of a risk.

“There's no doubt that the 1400 metres this week is short of his best distance, but he hasn't raced since October and has a bit of freshness on his side. I don't think it'll be a problem for him. He's looking really good and has put on a bit of condition.”

Prise De Fer
will be joined in Saturday's race by stablemate Burgundy Belle, who has placed
in the Listed Matamata Cup and Levin Stakes in her last three starts.

“She's been in a very solid patch of form in the last few weeks,” Richards said. “We've been really pleased with her, and she deserves her chance in a race like this.”

Saturday's Te
Rapa meeting could also continue the remarkable run of Richards-trained
juveniles.

The
premiership-leading trainer has already saddled six individual two-year-old
winners this season, and he will unveil another bright young juvenile talent in
the Lowe Schollum Jones 2YO Premier.

Te Akau
Racing principal David Ellis paid A$600,000 to buy Sword of State at the Magic
Millions yearling sale, and the Snitzel colt has shown promise at the trials
with a win and two placings.

“We really like this colt,” Richards said. “He's a son of Snitzel that David bought over on the Gold Coast. He's shown some good ability and has progressed nicely over the last few weeks. I think he's in the zone now.”

Brando, who
Ellis bought for $500,000 at last year's Ready to Run Sale, will continue his
build-up to next month's Gr. 1 Levin Classic with a run at either Te Rapa or
Awapuni. The Savabeel colt won at Te Aroha in his most recent appearance,
beating subsequent winner Deep Beauty.

“He's a promising colt who's going very nicely,” Richards said. “He'll have another run this weekend at either Te Rapa or Awapuni, and we're looking forward to targeting some bigger races further down the track.”

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