The Perfect Pink leads home 1-2-3-4 for Richards in New Zealand 1,000 Guineas
Victory in the Group 1 brought up the trainers 50th elite level winner and Savabeel’s 26th
Just when you thought Jamie Richards couldn’t get anymore dominant, the young trainer took his career into another stratosphere yesterday when The Perfect Pink (Savabeel) landed the New Zealand 1,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) at Riccarton, leading home an extraordinary 1-2-3-4 for the stable and provided the handler with his incredible 50th top-flight winner.
Fresh from sending out Noverre (Savabeel) to win the male equivalent last weekend, Richards looked to have an ultra strong hand with his quartet of runners in yesterday’s contest, but The Perfect Pink had not been many people’s pick to bring up his century of Group 1 scorers with her stablemate Imperatriz (I Am Invincible) the most fancied of his runners.
Ridden by Opie Bosson, The Perfect Pink – who was last seen running fourth behind Imperatriz in the Soliloquy Stakes (Gr 3, 1400m) – sat three wide in midfield with cover, before swooping to the outside of the track in the run home.
Stablemates Shepherd’s Delight (Rip Van Winkle) and Belle En Rouge (Burgundy) looked like they would fight out the finish at the 200 metres, but Bosson surged on The Perfect Pink to join issue and take victory by a long neck from Shepherd’s Delight, who pipped Belle En Rouge for third as race favourite Imperatriz arrived late to take fourth.
The trainer was enjoying his third win the 1,000 Guineas, having sent out Kahma Lass (Darci Brahma) to win last year’s renewal, while he saddled Risque (Darci Brahma) to win the time-honoured Group 1 in partnership with Stephen Autridge in 2015.
“It’s been a bit of a whirlwind the last five or six years, after being a young fella growing up in Dunedin,” the winning trainer said.
“To bring up the milestone in the South Island and being a southern boy makes it a really special day.
“I’ve got a lot of people to thank for the position I am in.
“It’s not just about me, it’s about the amazing bunch of staff and the owners and everyone who is involved.”
Richards admitted that the race looked an unlikely target earlier in the campaign, with the filly clearing maiden ranks on the synthetic track at Cambridge in late September.
“We always had a lot of time for her, but she needed time to mature,” Richards said.
“We weren’t originally going to bring her down here, but I’m thrilled that we did.
“I actually thought she was the one to beat on good ground, but thankfully she has been able to do it on soft ground as well.”
The victory was the fourth for Bosson in the race after partnering Katie Lee (Pins) and King’s Rose (Redoute’s Choice) to victory in 2009 and 2010 respectively before combining with Kahma Lass for Richards last year.
“It’s an amazing feeling as she is a very nice filly,” said Bosson, who also teamed up with Richards in last weekend’s 2,000 Guineas.
“We picked her out as a two-year-old as a perfect 1,000 Guineas type filly, so it is a great result.
“We got a bit of a rough run and I was behind one I didn’t want to be behind. When it stopped at 600 metres I had to come around it and make quite a long run.
“The plan in my mind was to get to the outside and the better ground as she doesn’t really like it the way it is.
“I knew I had the Savabeel factor on my side and that really kicked in.
“Jamie does an amazing job and you are just so privileged to ride for this stable. Every time you put your leg over one, you know they have got a great chance.”
Richards said the filly would now be set for the New Zealand Oaks (Gr 1, 2400m), with Australia also a long-range target and Bosson said the daughter of Savabeel (Zabeel) would relish the step up in trip.
“She will be an out and out Oaks filly for sure. She doesn’t over-race, she just drops the bit and does whatever you want. She is the perfect staying type,” he said.
The Perfect Pink was bred by the Dennis brothers, along with Milan Park principal Tony Ryder, who share in the ownership of the filly along with Grant Bennett, Steven Christopher and Craig Lawrence. The filly will head for a break at Milan Park after flying back from Christchurch on Tuesday.
Richards didn’t rule out trying race favourite Imperatriz over a mile again in the future, but believed she would be most effective at 1200 metres and 1400 metres, which is what she will be set for after Christmas and into the New Year.
The victory also handed Waikato Stud’s multiple champion sire Savabeel with his 26th Group 1 winner and second in as many weeks, having also been the sire of the filly’s New Zealand 2,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m)-winning stablemate Noverre.
The win also exemplified the potency of Savabeel when mated to daughters of O’Reilly (Last Tycoon) with The Perfect Pink the seventh top-flight winner and 22nd overall stakes winner bred on the cross which fires at a stakes winners to runners strike rate of 14 per cent.
Crowned New Zealand’s Champion stallion on seven occasions, Savabeel is standing his 16th season at Waikato Stud at a fee of NZ$100,000 and he looks on track to be crowned Champion sire for the eighth time.
The Perfect Pink (3 f Savabeel – The Solitaire by O’Reilly) comes from a dynasty of fillies that have won the New Zealand 1,000 Guineas. She is one of two foals out of multiple stakes winner The Solitaire (O’Reilly) and she is herself sister of Listed winner and Group 1 scorer Deerfield (Falkirk).
The filly’s third dam is the dual Listed winner The Grin (Grosvenor) and she in turn produced The Jewel (O’Reilly), whose two Group 1 victories included the 2002 1,000 Guineas – the dam of multiple Group 3 winner The Diamond One (Tale Of The Cat) and Listed winner The Precious One (Darci Brahma).
Meanwhile, The Grin also produced The One (O’Reilly) and her other daughter, Group 2 winner Star Affair (Star Way), is the dam of La Diosa (So You Think), who landed the Group 1 in 2016 and she also produced Group 3 scorer Solid Billing (Rock Of Gibraltar) and Listed scorer Thy (O’Reilly).
The Solitaire’s 2019 foal by Darci Brahma (Danehill) died, while in 2020 she produced a filly by Little Avondale-based sire Per Incanto (Street Cry) and she has most recently been covered by Ocean Park (Thorn Park).