Five-year-old gelding Wairere Falls (NZ) (Savabeel) landed the sixth win of his career when successful in the Ned Whiskey Handicap (1500m) at Rosehill on Saturday for trainer Chris Waller after getting conditions to suit.
Wairere Falls got the better of favoured stablemate Yiyi when coming with a well-timed run under Tommy Berry after racing on the white-hot rails for much of the journey.
“It has obviously been very advantageous to find the rail in the run today and it was always something I was thinking about, especially when I was able to find the back of Yiyi as well. I knew he would take me into the race,” Berry said.
“He gave me a lovely feel on the way to the gates and in his last two starts it has just been the pace of the race, where there hasn’t been much speed in it, he has been a bit closer and he doesn’t finish off as well.
“He was that pair further back today where he was really able to travel and get in his comfort zone and he showed what a good turn of foot he has when he gets a race like that.
“He is a big solid boy who enjoys his racing and he can go on soft and good ground, so he is a real all-rounder. When he has races run to suit he is always there and Chris knows him like the back of his hand now, so he has done a great job with him.”
Sporting the colours of Go Racing, in addition to his six victories, Wairere Falls has also placed on eight occasions and has now banked in excess of A$380,000 for his connections.
Winning trainer Chris Waller was pleased to see the son of Savabeel salute third-up and believes he is best suited out to a mile.
“He had a bit of match-fitness, which I think was the difference. Yiyi is arguably the better horse but race fitness is hard to simulate,” Waller said.
“He is a decent horse and last preparation he was very consistent. Right conditions and right race today and over the last 200m he was superior with his fitness.
“A mile is probably his best, but he is pretty versatile and at 1400m to a mile, the owners will have a bit of fun.”
Out of Iguazu’s Girl (NZ) (Redoute’s Choice), Wairere Falls is a half-brother to four-time Group One winner and ill-fated stallion Sacred Falls. It is also the family of Group winners Packing Pins (NZ) (Pins), Shopaholic (NZ) (Pins) and Splurge (NZ) (Savabeel).
The well-bred gelding was purchased by syndicators Go Racing for $280,000 out of the draft of breeders Waikato Stud at the 2018 New Zealand Bloodstock Book 1 Yearling Sale.
There are 47 yearlings by Savabeel catalogued in the Book 1 session of the New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sales, which commence on March 7 at Karaka.
