Orchestral the family’s latest star filly

Few New Zealand fillies have come to Australia with the boom that Orchestral carried across the Tasman earlier this week.

It is well-earned with eight starts producing five wins, the last four in a row including wins in the Karaka Millions 3YO (1600m), Group 2 Avondale Guineas (2100m) and Group 1 New Zealand Derby (2400m) at her past three.

The Roger James and Robert Wellwood -trained daughter of Savabeel became only the fifth filly to win the NZ Derby in the past 40 years, and first in more than a decade, when she strolled home by 3-3/4 lengths at Ellerslie on March 2.

But the raging favourite for this Saturday’s $750,000 Group 1 Vinery Stud Stakes (2000m) at Rosehill won’t be the first member of her family chases three-year-old filly riches in Sydney, and she will do it on the day another relative chases Group 1 glory in Melbourne.

Orchestral is out of the O’Reilly mare Symphonic, who is a three-quarter sister to Spring, the dam of uyh.

By No Excuse Needed, Daffodil was the Champion New Zealand 3YO in 2008/09, having won the 1000 Guineas at Group 1 level in her homeland before a dominant win the Group 1 Australian Oaks (2400m) at Randwick.

Daffodil is a sister to Posy, also by No Excuse Needed, who is the dam of Atishu, a winner of the Champions Stakes (2000m) and Queen Of The Turf Stakes (1600m) at Group 1 level in Australia.

Atishu will go in search of another Group 1 win in Saturday’s $3 million Australian Cup (2000m) at Flemington.

Group 1 winner Aegon also appears on Orchestral’s pedigree page, being a grandson of a half-sister to Spring, so James knew she was not going to come cheap and is satisfied she has put form on the board to justify her NZ$625,000 price tag at the 2022 Karaka Yearling Sale.

“She was a very physical filly that we didn’t want to miss out on,” James said earlier this year.

“She was a filly that was always destined to be best after Christmas as a three-year-old and she had the pedigree to back that up.

“You tend to have to pay for those when you want the whole package.”

Orchestral will be striving to give James and Wellwood back-to-back wins in the Vinery Stud Stakes after Prowess’s dominant win last year, while James also won with Sixty Seconds in 2002.

That was a stellar period for the Kiwis in the Vinery Stud Stakes with Champagne (1998) and Hill Of Grace (2000) winning either side of Savannah Success, who was prepared by Trans-Tasman trainer Graeme Rogerson.

Savannah Success also has links to Orchestral, being the dam of her sire Savabeel, who has already produced one winner of the race in Lucia Valentina, the 2013 champion.