Photo: Supplied
Waikato Stud’s 10-time Champion New Zealand sire Savabeel has passed away, aged 24.
A pillar of New Zealand’s thoroughbred breeding industry in recent years, Savabeel continued the legacy of his rich lineage, with his sire Zabeel and grandsire Sir Tristram revered as the sires of their generation.
His former trainer Graeme Rogerson was sad to hear of the news of Savabeel’s passing from Waikato Stud principal Mark Chittick on Friday morning, but he is looking back on his life with fondness.
“I was talking with Mark this morning and I said, ‘think of the bright side and all of the good things that he brought you, and the great times we had with the horse’,” Rogerson said.
Bred by Graeme Rogerson in partnership with Glenlogan Park, Savabeel was out of Savannah Success, who Rogerson trained to Group One success in the New Zealand Oaks (2400m) and Australia Stakes (1200m).
Rogerson would go on to sell Savannah Success with Savabeel as a foal at foot, but he was taken by him as a yearling at the 2023 Gold Coast Magic Millions Yearling Sale and purchased him back for A$400,000.
It proved to be an astute decision, with Rogerson training him to Group One success in the Cox Plate (2040m) and Spring Championship Stakes (2000m), and elite-level placings in the Victoria Derby (2500m), C F Orr Stakes (1400m) and Champagne Stakes (1600m).
His talent was highlighted by his victory in the Cox Plate as a three-year-old, one of the highlights of Rogerson’s decorated career.
“I thought every 10 years a three-year-old can win the race (Cox Plate) and he was the horse of his year,” Rogerson said. “He always had a hell of a lot of ability, he was a very good horse.”
Following his retirement from racing, a $10 million deal was brokered with Waikato Stud, and he would take up residence at the prestigious Matamata farm where he would go on to leave his legacy.
To date, Savabeel has sired 159 individual stakes winners, including 36 Group One winners, and dominated the New Zealand stallion ranks for over a decade, being crowned Champion New Zealand sire on 10 occasions.
Rogerson said he was always hopeful Savabeel would make it at stud, and he has been fortunate to train three of his progeny (Scarlett Lady, Soriano and Costume) to Group One success.
“You are always hopeful, he had the pedigree and all the attributes,” Rogerson said. “He has done his job and has been the leading stallion for a long time.
“We have had a lot of Group One winners by him, we have had a great ride, and he had a great life.”
There was a sombre mood at Waikato Stud on Friday morning following Savabeel’s passing, and the farm’s general manager Mike Rennie said he is not only a massive loss to the farm, but the entire New Zealand thoroughbred industry.
“It was a sombre morning at the farm after everyone heard (of his passing), which just showed how much he meant to everyone,” Rennie said. “He lived a very happy and healthy life, did an incredible job and we have done right by him along the way.
“Not only the Chitticks and Waikato Stud, but the wider New Zealand industry has got a huge amount to be thankful for with Savabeel, he has been an incredibly dominant force across Australasia.
“Not only is he following in his father and grandfather’s footsteps, but hopefully in time will surpass them.
“He has been here for well over 20 years and is a horse that has been here the longest. He was fighting fit until he wasn’t this morning. He is what every stud on the face of the earth dreams to have.
“So far, he has had 159 stakes winners and 36 individual Group One winners, he is always around 10.5-11 percent stakes winners to runners, there isn’t a box he hasn’t ticked. He has sold over $1 million horses, he has had I Wish I Win win the biggest prizemoney races around, and he was not only all of that from a performance point of view, but he meant the world to everyone here on the farm.”
Savabeel is now leaving his mark as a broodmare sire, while he also has several sons at stud, including Group One winner Noverre at Waikato Stud.
“We have been waiting for a son of Savabeel for a long time from a compatibility perspective with our broodmare band and one we genuinely believed in that showed the characteristics that we look for,” Rennie said. “Noverre has ticked all the boxes so far and like Savabeel he is probably going to be a more three- and four-year-old sire.
“The feedback from trainers has been great, albeit it is probably going to be closer to Christmas and after that when we are going to see them in their true light. They are with the best trainers in Australasia, they have bought them and been given them to train, so every chance has been given. He is the spitting image of his father as well.
“It is great to see him (Savabeel) doing it as a broodmare sire so far with nine individual Group One winners and long will his legacy live.”
