This race will serve as an ideal lead up to the Group 1 $A500,000 Australasian Oaks (2000m) at Morphettville on May 6, a race that is also restricted to three-year-old fillies and run at set weights.
Savvy Dreams has come a long way in a short time and has not finished further back than fifth in her five starts. She won on debut in a 1200m maiden race at Hastings on New Year's Day and three races later she finished a close second, beaten a half-head, behind Bonneval in the Group 3 Lowland Stakes (2100m) at Hastings on March 2.
The tough filly then went to Trentham a fortnight later and turned in another courageous performance for third behind Bonneval and Devise in the Group 1 New Zealand Oaks (2400m).
Savvy Dreams was turned out for a week spell following that hard race and has freshened up well. She underwent an easy 1000-metre workout on her own on the heavy No. 1 grass at the Hastings track on Tuesday, clocking 1:9.6, the last 600 in 39.1.
Savvy Dreams is owned by Cambridge's Tony Rider who has retained a 50 per cent racing share in the filly.
The Storming Home Syndicate, which involves a number of Hawke's Bay people, has a 30 per cent racing share while two Napier men, Kelvyn Marshall and Grant Julian, each have a 5 per cent shareholding along with Dannevirke couple Jim and Lynne Small and Hawera-based Wendy Spurdle.
Saint Kitt at Riccarton
Hastings stayer Saint Kitt has only four rivals in tomorrow's $30,000 Hornby Working Men's Club Founders Cup at Riccarton as he attempts to add to his great South Island record.
The Keeper seven-year-old is topweight, with 60kg, in the 2200m event as he chases a third victory from his last four starts.
Saint Kitt is raced by Hastings trainer Kelly Burne and her Perth-based son Vinnie Meenehan but has been in the temporary care of Riccarton trainer Pam Robson since September last year. He has had nine starts since then for three wins, two seconds, a third, a fourth and a fifth and picked up more than $70,000 in stakemoney.
Addictive Habit back on track
Hawke's Bay-owned Addictive Habit is making good progress toward a return to racing with an Australian campaign his top priority.
The Group 1 winner, bred and part-owned by Hastings couple Graham and Isabell Roddick, hasn't raced for 14 months but has responded well to treatment for the tendon injury that halted his career.
"We've given him a long, slow build-up and he's been doing very well," his Cambridge trainer Lee Somervell said.
"I couldn't be happier with him, he's thriving and loving his work."
Addictive Habit furthered his preparation with an outing at last week's Cambridge trials where he finished third in his open 935m heat. He is likely to have another trial within the next couple of weeks.
Somervell said Addictive Habit was unlikely to race here before the gelding headed across the Tasman.
"There really isn't anything suitable for him here," he said.
"We're aiming for another Brisbane campaign so all going well we'll head over there in the middle of May.
"We haven't got anything in particular in mind for him yet, but he will get in whatever we decide on and there are a lot of choices."
Addictive Habit is no stranger to the Queensland winter carnival with a four-start campaign there in 2015 netting a Listed win at the Gold Coast and another minor placing.
The son of Colombia returned home to win the Group 2 Foxbridge Plate before triumphing in the Group 1 Livamol Classic during that year's Hawke's Bay spring carnival.
He then headed south to Riccarton to successfully defend his Group 2 Coupland's Bakeries Mile title under 59.5kg.
Gavin Parker's first win
Former Hastings-based Gavin Parker celebrated his first win as a trainer when Pure Lorde won the final event at Awapuni last Saturday.
Parker recently joined successful Matamata trainer Graham Richardson in a new partnership and Pure Lorde was their only runner at the Manawatu meeting.
Richardson watched the horse from home while Parker was on hand at Awapuni to accept congratulations for the victory.
"I did ask Gavin to head down there with the mare as I thought she would be a good chance and there is no better feeling than training your first winner," explained Richardson.
"Parksey is a great guy and is going to be a real asset for the stable. To get that first win on the board certainly takes the pressure off and hopefully it's the sign of good things to come.
"I've always thought that he would be the ideal person to bring into a partnership and when the opportunity presented itself I was delighted that we could get things up and running."
Gavin Parker worked for a number of years for the strong O'Sullivan-owned Wexford Stables before spending several years in Hawke's Bay, where he was a member of the track staff at the Hastings racecourse.
Richardson said Pure Lorde, who has now won three of her 12 starts, could now be stepped up in class, indicating a tilt at the Listed $75,000 Hawke's Bay Gold Cup (2200m) at Hastings tomorrow week was one option being considered.
Sampson, another impressive winner at Awapuni last Saturday, is another likely starter in next week's Hawke's Bay Cup, along with this year's Wellington Cup winner Savaria and recent Waipukurau Cup winner Lamborghini.
The Hawke's Bay Cup will be one of two black type races at the Hawke's Bay meeting on Easter Saturday, the other being the $50,000 NZ Bloodstock Finance Sprint (1200m).
An eight-race programme is planned for the meeting, with the first timed for 12.24pm and the last at 4.35pm.
Kawi spelling
Top galloper Kawi has been turned out for a six week spell and is unlikely to race again until the spring.
The horse's New Plymouth trainer, Allan Sharrock, says the Savabeel six-year-old will either kick off another campaign at the Hawke's Bay spring carnival or in Melbourne.
One thing for certain is that Kawi's future racing will be restricted to shorter distances after he managed only fifth in the Group 1 Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes (2000m) at Ellerslie last start.
"I doubt he'll ever run over 2000 metres again," Sharrock said.
"The ride in his last start was good, but he did have that wind operation last year and when the gap came at the 300 he had run out of oxygen.
"He's an explosive sprinter-miler so we'll be keeping him to 1200, 1400 and 1600 metre races."
Kawi is the winner of 14 races, six of them at Group 1 level.
Godolphin support for CATWALK
The CATWALK's Trust quest to cure Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) has been boosted by a unique and generous gesture by Sheikh Mohammed's Godolphin.
They have gifted a service to Brazen Beau, worth A$44,000, with all proceeds from the sake of the service at the Trust's event in Queenstown next month to fund research projects.
"This is an amazingly generous gift and it demonstrates the very best co-operation," CATWALK founder Catriona Williams said.
"Every single day someone in Australasia is affected by a life changing SCI - a tetraplegic in Australia represents a lifetime cost of $9.4 million dollars and for paraplegics its $5 million dollars.
"This is one race we can't afford to lose, and we can't thank Sheikh Mohammed and Godolphin enough."