Lady Kipling Fights for G2 Victory

Karaka Select Sale graduate Lady Kipling (NZ) had to draw on all her fighting qualities on Saturday to beat a good field in the $100,000 Group 2 NRM/Auckland Thoroughbred Breeders' Stakes (1400m) at Counties.

The Murray Baker & Andrew Forsman trained Lady Kipling (Savabeel x Akela)was backed into favouritism for Saturday’s race after resuming her summer campaign with a good win fresh up at Awapuni earlier this month.

Lady Kipling (inside) takes her second win at Group 2 level

After travelling in the box seat in Saturday’s race, Lady Kipling took the lead at the top of the straight under jockey Opie Bosson and was clearly headed by race rival Miss Pelear (Mr. Nancho) 100 metres from home before courageously fighting back to win by half-a-head, with Guiseppina (Johar) running a top race for third.

The win capped off a highly successful meeting for trainers Murray Baker & Andrew Forsman and jockey Opie Bosson who also combined to win the other feature race of the meeting, the Group 2 Counties Cup with Jeu de Cartes (Stravinsky).

Plans for the five-year-old daughter of Savabeel are yet to be confirmed but the Group 1 Captain Cook Stakes on 8 December (1600m) at Trentham is a possibility for the mare.

Now a winner of nine of her 26 starts, Saturday’s victory was Lady Kipling’s second at Group 2 level. The mare won the Cal Isuzu Stakes at Te Rapa in December last year beating multiple Group 1 winner Shez Sinsational (Ekraar) in the process. Raced by Geoff Candy and Laurence Redshaw, Lady Kipling has now won over $300,000 in stakes.

Bred by Alchemy Family Trust & Windsor Park Stud, Lady Kipling was purchased by Murray Baker from Windsor Park Stud at New Zealand Bloodstock’s Karaka Select Sale for $62,500.

Lady Kipling is one of four horses by Waikato Stud’s sire Savabeel that have won at stakes level so far this season. The sire of 20 stakes winners, Savabeel has also seen Lopov win the Listed Kalgoorlie Cup, Savvy Dancer take the Listed Feilding Gold Cup and Ray’s Girl win the Listed Canterbury Stakes.