After playing second fiddle to Funstar in the Group 1 Flight Stakes and Group II Tea Rose Stakes last spring, the New Zealander Probabeel gained her revenge in Saturday’s $500,000 Group 1 Surround Stakes (1400m) at Randwick.
The old foes were back among the tailenders early. When James McDonald made his move on Funstar before the home turn, Opie Bosson was briefly pocketed on Probabeel who then followed Funstar through.
The Brendan and Jo Lindsay owned daughter of Savabeel knuckled down in the closing stages to defeat the Adelaide filly Funstar by a half-head with the Deep Field filly Xilong a half-length back in third.
Trained by Jamie Richards, Probabeel arrived in Australia last spring with three consecutive wins including the valuable Karaka Million at two. Following her Australia sojourn she went back to New Zealand to become the first horse to win the Karaka Million 3yo Classic - Karaka 2yo Million double.
“She is an amazing filly, she had to do it the hard way. She is just so much stronger this time in,” Bosson said.
“I just got myself into a little bit of a pocket and hit a bit of a flat spot.
“I’m just lucky enough that this filly was good enough to get me out of it. Otherwise, I didn’t want to be coming back in that’s for sure.”
Richards also admitted he thought they were in trouble on the turn.
"I thought we were in a spot of bother on the corner, she was under the pump, but to her credit she really found the line well and she's a very exciting filly," Richards told AAP.
"I knew she had to be somewhere near her absolute best in a good-quality race like this but full credit to the team at home for sending her over in such good order.
"I'm so thrilled to get a winner in these colours for Brendan and Jo.
"She's going to improve a bit further again as soon as we get up in trip. She'll go to the Phar Lap then into the Vinery. She's got a Group 1 now."
Purchased by David Ellis for $380,000 out of the Waikato Stud draft at the 2018 NZB Karaka Yearling Sale, Probabeel advances her record to 6 wins and 3 seconds from 12 starts with earnings of $1,534,228.
Probabeel is the first and only foal of the stakes-placed Pins mare Far Fetched who died at the age of seven in 2017.
She was a three-quarter sister to Group II MRC Thousand Guineas Prelude and Group III Manfred Stakes winner Legless Veuve and the Group III MRC Mannerism Stakes winner and Group 1 WRC Telegraph Hcp runner-up Tootsie.
Probabeel becomes the 19th Group 1 winner for Waikato Stud’s super sire Savabeel.
