Cambridge Stud secures Amarelinha for Almanzor

Media Release - Wednesday September 28

Holding firm against a torrent of overseas interest, Cambridge Stud bought Amarelinha (NZ) (Savabeel) for $1.1 million on Gavelhouse Plus on Wednesday night, and the Group One-winning mare will be served by Almanzor this spring.

Many of New Zealand’s most sought-after mares have been snapped up by the red-hot Australian breeding industry over the last 18 months, including elite broodmare Baggy Green (Galileo) and Group One stars such as Melody Belle (NZ) (Commands), Avantage (Fastnet Rock) and Entriviere (NZ) (Tavistock).

New Zealand Oaks winner Amarelinha will be staying in New Zealand.

There was a strong possibility of that trend continuing with Amarelinha, and no fewer than five international buyers keenly pursed her in Wednesday evening’s auction. But it was Cambridge Stud who came out on top and kept the New Zealand Oaks (2400m) winner in her homeland.

“It’s great to be able to reverse the tide a little bit and keep this mare in New Zealand,” Cambridge Stud’s sales and nominations manager Cameron Ring said.

“She will visit Cambridge Stud stallion Almanzor, along with our recently retired champion mare Probabeel (NZ) (Savabeel), so he’s shaping up to have an exceptional book of mares this spring.”

By eight-time champion New Zealand sire Savabeel, Amarelinha comes from the immediate family of Group One winner Metal Bender (NZ) (Danasinga), Group One Golden Rose (1400m) placegetter North Pacific (Brazen Beau), this season’s Group Three San Domenico Stakes (1100m) winner Sweet Ride (Deep Field), and Group Three-winning mare Missybeel (NZ) (Savabeel). She is also closely related to the Group One winner and successful sire Keeper (Danehill).

Amarelinha herself had 16 starts, winning five including the New Zealand Oaks, the Group Two David & Karyn Ellis Fillies’ Classic (2000m), the Group Two Eight Carat Classic (2000m) and the Group Three Sunline Vase (2100m). She was also runner-up in the Group One WFA Classic (1600m) and the $1 million Karaka Million 3YO Classic (1600m).

“She certainly had a lot going for her as a broodmare prospect,” Ring said. “She hails from an outstanding family that we didn’t previously have represented in our Cambridge Stud broodmare band. We’re delighted to have been able to secure an Oaks winner with that pedigree page.

“A special thank you to her owners and the team at Te Akau Racing, for giving us such a wonderful opportunity to purchase a mare of this quality. She was perfectly trained by Jamie Richards and Mark Walker, and her racing career was a real credit to the Te Akau operation.”

Advertisement

Amarelinha as a yearling.

Amarelinha was a $300,000 purchase from Book 1 of Karaka 2019 by Te Akau’s David Ellis, and she ended up earning over $627,000 in stakes for the Te Akau Hopskip’n’jump Syndicate.

Wednesday’s $1.1 million price tag was another enormously satisfying result for Ellis, who has seen several fierce bidding duels for his yearling purchases over the last 12 months.

Avantage sold for a record-breaking $4.1 million in September of last year, while Exaltation (NZ) (Not A Single Doubt) fetched $560,000 in March and Entriviere was snapped up for $900,000 earlier this month – all via Gavelhouse Plus.

“This is another fantastic result through Gavelhouse Plus,” Ellis said. “Overall, over the last 14 months, we’ve sold horses for a total of around $20 million, which is unbelievable.

“I’m delighted for the owners of this mare, who supported Karyn (Fenton-Ellis) and me when we bought her at Karaka three years ago. We paid $300,000 for her, and she won the Oaks and all those other great races, plus $50,000 worth of bonuses for winning the title of New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year.

“To have all of that capped by this result this evening is hugely satisfying, and we’re thrilled for her owners.

“But I think the most exciting part of it for me is that Cambridge Stud bought her, she’s staying in New Zealand, and she’ll go to Almanzor – a stallion we rate very highly and know a bit about, thanks to his Karaka Million-winning son Dynastic (NZ).”

Attention now turns to gavelhouse.com’s fortnightly mixed bloodstock auction which features 39 Lots. Bidding ends from 7pm (NZT) on Monday 3 October.

Advertisment
More Reading...
NZB Ready to Run Breeze Ups Complete for 2025
The final day of NZB’s 2025 Ready to Run Sale Breeze Ups saw a further 202 two-year-olds gallop down the home straight at Te Rapa Racecourse.
Doubtland 2YO All On Red Smashes Them Again at Ascot
Widden Stud's Doubtland has a potential 2YO topliner in Perth in the shape of exciting WA colt All On Red, who remains undefeated from two starts after another comprehensive Ascot Saturday win.
Sires With Winners - Saturday October 25
Here is the full list of 136 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Consistency Key On Day One of 2025 Breeze Ups
After the rescheduling of dates for NZB’s anticipated 2025 Ready to Run Sale Breeze Ups, Day One kicked off on Monday at Te Rapa Racecourse with consistent times, weather and track conditions.
Wootton Bassett Colt Leads Coolmore G1 Trifecta
The last British Group I race of the flat season was run overnight at Doncaster with Aidan O’Brien producing a trifecta of two year-old colts led by a son of the late Wootton Bassett (GB) in Hawk Mountain, who was too good for a pair of Frankel colts.
Undefeated 3YO King of Light Wins Listed Belgravia
Dan Morton's exciting three year old King Of Light (Earthlight) remains unbeaten in three starts, as the gelding graduated to stakes company with a scintillating first up victory in the Listed Belgravia Stakes on Cox Plate Day at Ascot.
Hi Yo Sass Bomb Wins G3 on Sunday
Kim Reid bypassed a Group One in favour of Sunday’s Gr.3 Gee and Hickton Funeral Directors Thompson Handicap (1600m) at Trentham with Hi Yo Sass Bomb, a decision that paid dividends when the mare led from the outset to claim her third stakes success.
Sale Cup Winner Adds to Fastnet Rock Super Weekend
It’s been quite the weekend for the late great champion sire Fastnet Rock with a Cox Plate quinella on Saturday and then on Sunday he produced a new stakes-winner when seven year-old gelding El Rocko captured the $200,000 Listed Sale Cup (1600m).
Transatlantic Takes $1million Five Diamonds Prelude
Transatlantic’s lucrative spring carnival continued at Randwick with an arrogant victory in the $1m Five Diamonds Prelude.
Inglis Digital - Darby Swoop on Amazing Eagle for $310,000
Scott Darby believes today’s Inglis Digital sale-topper Amazing Eagle (Capitalist) can continue along the same successful mould as the likes of former online Darby acquisitions Robusto, Caballus and Imperial Force and progress on to become a future racetrack star.