Orovela Strikes First in Southern Filly Series

The first leg of the New Zealand Bloodstock Southern Filly of the Year Series has gone the way of Orovela (NZ) (Saperavi) with her tenacious victory in the Listed $50,000 New Zealand Bloodstock Canterbury Belle Stakes (1200m) at Riccarton.

Orovela (NZ) winning the Listed $50,000 New Zealand Bloodstock Canterbury Belle Stakes.

The $1,200 weanling purchase from NZB’s National Weanling Sale at Karaka proved too strong for her rivals to score a three-quarter length victory for trainers Daniel Champion & Kezia Murphy in the feature race at Riccarton.

Ridden by Ashley Frye, the filly by the well-bred young sire Saperavi (Stravinsky) was positioned in the middle of the pack from her inside draw. As many of the runners spread wide on a damp day in Christchurch, Orovela found herself a saloon passage nearer the inside and kicked away to beat favoured runners Dreamer (More Than Ready) and Silhouette Noire (Dane Shadow).

It was the second win from as many starts for Orovela after scoring on debut as a two-year-old in July. She has now earned $35,935 for Ray Coupland who owns the horse alongside trainers Daniel Champion and Kezia Murphy.

“Very happy with her, she is just a racehorse and always has been,” said Champion.

“Her biggest asset is her strength and constitution, stable life doesn’t worry her one bit.

“I had her sister Hamilton Coup out of the same mare with Ray (Coupland) giving me the horse to train, she had a huge amount of potential but was a bit cantankerous.

“I was up at the Weanling Sales when Orovela came through and she was a nice strong type so we bought her.”

Bred by L Williams, Orovela is a daughter of another talented South Island filly Kims Coup (Kashani), a dual stakes winner including the Listed Warstep Stakes, the last leg of the New Zealand Bloodstock Southern Filly of the Year Series. Daniel Champion purchased the filly from Scotsman Valley Farm at the 2011 National Weanling Sale for a modest $1,200.

Her sire, Saperavi, is a blueblood of the New Zealand studbook being a half-brother to star young sire Darci Brahma. Orovela becomes the first stakes winner for her sire who has had limited opportunities with only 21 race day starters from three crops of racing age.

For more information and to view the current leaderboard and race schedule for New Zealand Bloodstock’s Southern Filly of the Year Series, click here.