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An autumn trip to Canterbury has turned out to be career-defining for Matamata mare Sassy Merlot, who added a valuable black-type win to her record in Saturday’s Listed Daphne Bannan Memorial Great Easter Stakes (1400m) at Riccarton.

“He’s only a little fellow, but he’s got a big heart and tries hard. We’ve given him a bit of time between runs and he worked super the other morning."

“If he can have the same run (as the Matamata Slipper) he will be giving them a bit of a fright I think.”

“It was a really good win at Ellerslie, he seems to have continued to go in that same positive direction since the race as well, which is encouraging.”

"He puts himself on the speed and he keeps going, he's a horse that can race up in the first three and he's pretty tough."

A fruitless summer saw Savaglee slip under the radar in this season’s two-year-old crop, but that all changed with a brilliant upset victory in Saturday’s Gr.3 Fairview Matamata Slipper (1200m) on his home track.