Amarelinha shrugged off an unconventional start to prove too good in the New Zealand Oaks (2400m) at Trentham on Saturday.
Amarelinha started odds-on for the classic having won four of her last five starts however, punters who took the short odds were concerned early when Amarelinha bounded in the air out of the barriers, almost dislodging jockey Opie Bosson who was then forced to race wide out of the straight the first time.
Bosson allowed to Amarelinha to stride forward to be just off the speed before accelerating into the lead early in the home straight.
Charms Star (Per Incanto) tried hard in the home straight but was no match for Amarelinha who went on to score comfortably with Llanacord (Contributer) filling the minor placing.
Amarelinha has now won her last three starts at Group level and is the winner of five of her seven starts, finishing second in the other two.
She is the 22nd Gr.1 winner for Savabeel and his fifth out of a mare by his former Waikato Stud barnmate O’Reilly (Last Tycoon) including the New Zealand Oaks winner Savaria.
To date Savabeel has 140 runners out of O’Reilly mares for 20 stakes winners – 13 of them at Group level.
A sister-in-blood to Australian Gr3 winner Missybeel (Savabeel), Amarelinha is the first foal of her dam Hopscotch (O’Reilly), an unraced sister to Sitting Pretty, the dam of Missybeel and a three-quarter sister to Up In Lights (O’Reilly), the dam of Gr3 Up & Coming Stakes at Randwick winner North Pacific (Brazen Beau).
Hopscotch is a half-sister to three-time Gr.1 winner Metal Bender (Danasinga), whose wins included the Randwick Guineas and George Ryder Stakes, and to Melbourne winner Southern Venture (Zabeel), also second in the LR Chairman’s Stakes at Morphettville.