Sewreel wins Listed Oaks Prelude

The powerful Murray Baker & Andrew Forsman stable added yet another string to their bow when Sewreel (NZ) (Savabeel) dominated her opposition to secure Saturday’s Listed Bob Sharrock Memorial Oaks Trial at New Plymouth.

The sleek Savabeel filly finished powerfully from a midfield position to draw away from her opposition in the closing stages and add her name alongside Mime and Coldplay as Oaks contenders from the country’s leading stable.

Watching intently from Ellerslie was the combination’s senior partner, Baker, who was quietly satisfied with the performance.

“She is a very promising filly who has now won three of her six starts,” he noted.

“We’ve thought she might be an Oaks type for quite a while now and that performance confirmed that for us.”

Baker revealed the key to the filly’s progress was a gear change made after she finished well back in the Group 2 Eight Carat Classic on Boxing Day.

“We took the blinkers off after that run at Ellerslie and that seems to have settled her down nicely,” he said.

“She is relaxing far better in her races now as she showed on Saturday when she settled nicely in the early part of the race.

“She will have one more run before the Oaks but I’m not quite sure where that will be at this stage.”

Sewreel, by Savabeel out of the unraced mare Haberdashery (Pins), was offered by Waikato Stud at the Karaka 2014 Select Sale and purchased by Murray Baker Racing for $42,000.

NZ Racing Desk