Kiwi three-year-old Savaglee and the New Zealand-bred Evaporate are giving expat jockey Michael Dee plenty to look forward to over the next few weeks.
Dee rode Evaporate to four consecutive victories in the spring including the Group 2 Stutt Stakes (1600m), followed by a third placing in the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas (1600m).
The Per Incanto gelding resumed with a third in the Group 2 Autumn Stakes (1400m) on February 8 and will reunite with Dee for a shot at Saturday’s Group 1 Futurity Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield.
Safely through that, Evaporate will cross the Tasman to contest the inaugural $3.5 million NZB Kiwi (1500m) at Ellerslie on March 8.
In between those two Evaporate assignments, Dee has been booked to partner Savaglee in the Group 1 Australian Guineas (1600m) at Flemington on March 1.
New Zealand three-year-olds are a proven source of Guineas success for Dee, who guided Legarto to victory in the race in 2023.
“That was a pretty special day with Legarto a couple of years ago,” Dee said.
“I’d love to keep that going with another Kiwi three-year-old this year.”
Trained by Pam Gerard for owners The Oaks Stud, Savaglee has been the standout three-year-old in New Zealand this season.
The Savabeel colt has won five of his seven starts including the Group 1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m), Group 2 Levin Classic (1400m), Group 2 Hawke’s Bay Guineas (1400m) and Group 2 Sarten Memorial (1400m).
Savaglee’s four-race winning streak was broken at Te Rapa earlier this month, but he lost little in defeat against older horses in the Group 1 BCD Group Sprint (1400m).
He was the first New Zealander across the line, finishing a gallant third behind Australian raiders Here To Shock and Bosustow.
“I’m really looking forward to riding Savaglee,” Dee said.
“The ride came about because I’m pretty good friends with Dean Williams, the son of Rick from The Oaks Stud. I put my name forward and was lucky enough to get this opportunity.
“His form through those New Zealand three-year-old races has obviously been exceptional, and I thought he performed very well against the older horses last time out. I don’t think he needs to improve much to be extremely competitive in the Guineas.”
Bookmakers rate Savaglee an $8 third favourite for the Australian Guineas behind Angel Capital ($4) and Sepals ($6).
Meanwhile, Evaporate is a $13 chance for his clash with older horses in Saturday’s Futurity Stakes, but his main assignment this autumn is the NZB Kiwi.
Evaporate will represent the TAB slot in the southern hemisphere’s richest three-year-old race, for which he heads the fixed-odds market as a $4 favourite.
“He seems to be coming up extremely well in his new preparation,” said Dee, who has ridden Evaporate in seven of his 11 career starts.
“The Futurity will be my first ride on him this time in, but I thought his first-up run was very good without a lot of luck. He’s drawn a bit awkwardly tomorrow (gate eight), but he’s capable of running a very good race if we manage to have a little bit of luck in the running.
“He probably doesn’t have to be winning tomorrow, but as long as he shows some of that form that he had in the spring, I think he’s going to be heading over to New Zealand as one of the hardest horses to beat in the Kiwi.
“If he runs well tomorrow and the team is happy to push on, I’d definitely be pretty keen to head over and ride him at Ellerslie. It would be exciting to be a part of it.”
Dee has ridden 119 winners in New Zealand along with more than 700 in Victoria.
His last time riding on this side of the Tasman was in December 2022, when he rode a winning treble at Trentham and finished second in the Group 1 Captain Cook Stakes (1600m) aboard Aegon.
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