Embellish Impressive

 
Embellish Impressive3 Oct 2017

Embellish (3 c Savabeel – Bling, by O’Reilly) made the best possible start to his campaign in the $10,000 Lion Red Maiden 1200 metres on 4 October at Ruakaka.
Nominated for the $500,000 Al Basti Equiworld 2000 Guineas (Gr. 1, 1600m) on 11 November at Riccarton but held up by wet tracks, trainers Stephen Autridge & Jamie Richards can breathe a sigh of relief that the promising colt resumed with such a commanding performance.
Rider Opie Bosson negated an awkward draw to settle one off the rail in sixth at the 900 metres, standing the leader six lengths at the 600m, and like a horse looking for further he rounded up his foe stylishly inside the final 100m.
Although not necessarily voiced by the trainers, it seems there has always been an air of anticipation and something special about Embellish around the stable and his performance gave rise to the beliefs.
“It was a lovely ride,” Richards said. “There was a fair bit of speed inside him, for the first half of the race, but he relaxed lovely, got to the outside and to the horse’s credit he really stuck his neck out and hopefully we’ve got an exciting colt on our hands.
“We had to scratch him at Taupo, wide draws and bits and pieces, but it’s getting to that stage now when you’ve got to keep going.
“Dave (Ellis) bought the horse to be a stallion and he’s still intact, and he’s got the pedigree, so if he keeps improving on the race track and can get through to black type then hopefully we could look at some serious races with this horse.”
Richards said that he and Autridge would consult with rider Opie Bosson before making a decision on where he races next. Notably, Bosson also had a terrific association with Embellish’s sister Diademe, winning five of his eleven rides on the mare.
“We’ll see what Opie has to say, and how he pulls up. We’ve taken him along quietly, but obviously races like the Sarten come around, the John Grigg and the Zacinto in the South Island, so we’ll let him tell us what he wants to do and there are plenty of options for a nice colt like this,” he said.
Owned by the Te Akau 2016 Breeding Syndicate, the brother to Group One winner Diademe, who subsequently sold for $740,000, Embellish was bought by David Ellis for $775,000 from the draft of Waikato Stud at the New Zealand Bloodstock Premier Yearling Sale.
At the time of purchase, Ellis said: “He is a magnificent colt and a standout at Waikato Stud when we did the farm inspections, and he is colt with a lovely cross of Sir Tristram on both sides of his pedigree.”
Waikato Stud proprietor Mark Chittick said: “He’s a beautiful type with a great pedigree and the Savabeel-O’Reilly cross is one that’s really worked. He was extremely popular in the lead-up to the sale, more so than any other yearling we’ve had.”
In what was regarded as the hottest race of the day, Embellish ran the 1200 metres on Dead4 footing in 1:11.3 and his best return on the NZ TAB was fixed odds: $4.00 & $1.60.
“We had a great day at Ruakaka,” Ellis said. “We won two races and beaten a nose, and a head, into second with two others, but the two horses that won (Irish Cream and Embellish) I thought were both special performances.
“Embellish, the way he won – and I was told by the experts it was the best field of Maidens they’d seen for a long time – the way he put them away I thought was superb. He has the makings and looks like he’s going to develop into a sensational miler, I’d say.
“He is a colt that Steve and Jamie have done a fantastic job with. They’ve been patient with him; he’s always shown them a tremendous amount of ability and he’s part of a breeding syndicate I put together at the 2016 Karaka yearling sales.
“The syndicate is made up of some of the best owners you could ever meet and it was just fantastic for all of them to see Embellish win like he did. And if he keeps going like that then he’ll finish up in a Group One race, for certain.”
Te Akau has six horses nominated for the 2000 Guineas and Ellis is happy with what he is seeing of their progress.
“Age of Fire looks as though he’s gone to another level, Te Akau Shark put a field away impressively the other day at Te Rapa, Wandering Eye won well at Taupo, Griffin gets his chance in the Hawkes Bay Guineas on Saturday at Hastings, and Heart of Courage could put his hand up,” he said.
“Opie was very, very impressed with Embellish,” Ellis said. “It takes a bit to impress him, too, but he made the comment.”
As a two-year-old, Embellish was put aside in April following a second on debut over 1200 metres at Ellerslie. Beforehand, he registered a third and first respectively in two trials, each with Bosson aboard, beating stakes’ placed stable-mate Summer Monsoon (Stratum) on 21 March at Matamata.
While in preparation to resume, he was held together in front when finishing second in a trial on 31 August at Te Teko.
Following the win, Embellish tightened into $12.00 & $4.00 (NZ TAB fixed odds) for the 2000 Guineas.
Embellish was strapped by Mason Stevens.
-https://www.teakauracing.com