Savant to stand at Chelandry Stud

Press, 25 August 1983, Page 28

Savant to stand at Chelandry Stud

A winning son of Supreme Sovereign has been secured to stand at stud in Canterbury. He is Savant, which arrived at Mrs Mary Dailey’s Chelandry Stud, Prebbleton, late last week. The race record of the English-bred grey included a victory at a mile and a half over the outstanding filly, Snow, and he was placed in seven of his 10 starts in Ireland. The lease of Savant from the New Zealand Insurance Co., Ltd., was negotiated this year by Roddy Fulton, a former Canterbury representative cricketer who now farms' at Scargill, and Dennis Limmer, of Christchurch, a professional water diviner, whose interests are many and varied. The lease the partners negotiated is for a three year period. A purchasing clause is also written into the agreement. Savant became the property of the insurance company when it was established, soon after his arrival at Peter Alien’s Balmoral Stud, Cambridge, just in time for the last stud season, that he had a fertility problem. He covered 20 mares early last spring but failed to get any of them in foal.

There could have been manv reasons for the problem but it was eventually solved this year, thanks to the efforts of Mr John O’Flaherty, a seminologist with Matamata Veterinary Services.

To prove the point that Savant’s fertility problem had been solved arrangements were made during the autumn this year for Savant to cover eight mares. Their age group ranged from 12 to 20 years. When pregnancy tests were

taken it found that seven of the eight were in foal. One of the mares was Brightest, which had failed to conceive since producing Out in Front, in 1978. This 15-year-old daughter of Bucentaur and Dashing Star is owned by Mr and Mrs O’Flaherty, who also share in the racing of the very capable Out in Front. Canterbury breeders have shown marked interest in Savant, a six-year-old halfbrother to Gainesways’

world renowned sire, Sharpen Up. Mr Limmer said yesterday that he already had 20 firm bookings. Under the terms of the lease there are restrictions regarding the number of mares Savant can cover this season. He will be allowed to cover no more than 50 outside mares, the partners may nominate 10 mares of their own and the insurance company has reserved the right to nominate six mares.