Top Shelf - one of many well-bred Spring 3yo's

[PKR]

There are many well-bred spring 3yos in their first preparation but one that catches the eye is Top Marks, an unraced colt by St Mark's Basilica out of Wellington Cup winner Savaria. With Shaune Ritchie & Colm Murray he has a nomination for the 2000 Gns.

Top Marks' sire, St Mark's Basilica, has few on the ground in NZ. Perhaps this is his first. The Coolmore stallion has shuttled to Australia but as a relative newcomer to stud duties has not yet developed a full racetrack profile, but has one Group 1 winner to his credit when his daughter, Diamond Necklace, in 2025 won the French Prix Marcel Boussac (1600m for 2yo fillies). On the racetrack St Mark's Basilica was a talented racehorse, rated the best two-year-old in Europe in 2020 when he won two of his five races including the Dewhurst Stakes. On his first run of 2021 he won the Poule d'Essai des Poulains and went on to win the Prix du Jockey Club and defeat older horses in the Eclipse Stakes and the Irish Champion Stakes. St Mark’s Basilica does not claim a classic Derby pedigree but rather one that has the potential to throw quality 2yos and 3yo milers.

 Top Marks’ dam Savaria boasts an impressive pedigree. Her sire Savabeel needs no introduction and on her dam’s side is a descendant of Soliloquy whose legacy lives on through the Gr2 Soliloquy Stakes, a key 1400m race for 3-year-old fillies at Ellerslie as part of the NZB Filly of the Year Series and a key lead up to the 1000 Gns, and through her numerous quality descendants including Solveig, Culminate, Gallic, Cross Swords, and Eileen Dubh. Savaria herself was a top shelf staying mare, victorious in the 2015 NZ Oaks and the 2017 Wellington Cup.

Top Marks’ debut in a 1400m Mdn, Te Rapa, Friday 25th Sept is awaited with interest. His trials to date have been quiet but with his pedigree can be expected to show something early on.

Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Mark%27s_Basilica_(horse)
https://www.nzthoroughbred.co.nz/blog/post/96202/Tantrum-Makes-It-a-Century-for-Descendants-of-Soliloquy/
https://www.breednet.com.au/news/26665/first-winner-for-nz-oaks-queen-savaria-