Photo: Race Images South
A pair of emerging fillies credited The Oaks Stud with a winning double at Pukekohe on Sunday with both homebreds promising to carry the Cambridge nursery’s colours to higher honours.
Niagara’s daughter Alaskan added momentum to her Gr.1 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai New Zealand Oaks (2400m) with victory in the NZB Karaka 2025 (2100m) at her third appearance.
A race later, Cypher went one better in the Trackside.co.nz (1300m) after finishing runner-up on debut at Taupo in late December.
“It was a good day with a couple of progressive fillies, one a stayer and the other more likely a miler,” The Oaks General Manager Rick Williams said.
Alaskan is trained by Shaune Ritchie and Colm Murray and the former prepared an Oaks quinella for the stud in 2012 with Artistic touching off Zurella.
“Hopefully, we can turn back the clock. It’s certainly been our long-term aim to get her to the race and I have no question she will get the trip, whether she’s got the turn of foot necessary to win an Oaks I’m not sure yet,” Williams said.
Alaskan is a daughter of the Zabeel mare Snowmobeel, a sister to Zagalia who won the Gr.1 Queensland Oaks (2400m).
All four of Snowmobeel’s foals to race have been successful including four-time winner Snow Secret who ran second in the Gr.3 Waikato Cup (2400m) and fourth in a Gr.2 Wellington Cup (3200m).
“It’s a family that has produced some great European staying horses and we bred the Oaks winner,” Williams said.
“Snowmobeel died and we kept this filly (Alaskan) in the hope that she could get some black type to carry on the family.
“She was always a very attractive, big filly that was going to need a bit of time. She’s broken her maiden now and it’s not always easy for a three-year-old filly to beat the older horses.”
Cypher is prepared by Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott, and patience has been key with the daughter of Darci Brahma.
“She went shin sore three times and had to come home so she has made her entrance onto the racing scene a little later than we would have liked, but if they’re good enough you find races for them,” Williams said.
Cypher is out of the Sakhee’s Secret mare Sleek Secret, who has an unraced two-year-old Darci Brahma filly named Tajana and a yearling sister.
“She’s also had a filly by Satono Aladdin and is now in foal to U S Navy Flag,” Williams said.
“Sleek Secret won five and was a bit unlucky and should have been a Group Three or Listed winner, every time we got her right something went wrong.
“Her two-year-old (Tajana) with Shaune Ritchie has had two trials for a second and a really good win the other day at Matamata and it will be going to the races shortly.”
Meanwhile, Williams confirmed the farm’s star colt Savaglee will make his next appearance in the Gr.1 BCD Group Sprint (1400m) on February 8.
“He’ll take on the older horses at Te Rapa and then it will be three weeks into the Australian Guineas (Gr.1, 1600m),” Williams said.
Trained by Pam Gerard, Savaglee has won seven of his 13 starts including the Gr.1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas in the spring and successfully returned last time out to claim the Gr.2 Levin Classic (1400m).
A rider has yet to be locked in for the Guineas at Flemington and Williams said they would be booking an Australian jockey in due course.
