O’Reilly lands Gr.2 Winner

3 January 2012

O’Reilly filly Silent Achiever credited her champion WS sire with yet another prestige race victory when she slammed her male rivals in the Gr 2 Championship Stakes. Aided by a classic ride from Vinnie Colgan, she came with a well-timed run from the back of the field to confirm her class.

Trained at Cambridge by Roger James, she was making just her fourth raceday appearance and followed up her solid run for third in the Gr 2 Eight Carat Classic on Boxing Day. Silent Achiever settled toward the back of the field today and unwound powerfully in the straight to stake her claim for a possible trip across the Tasman.

“It was a lovely, patient ride and in his usual top-class style he waited on her and the best horse won,” James said. “Hopefully she’ll get a few more Group wins and 2000 metres may well be her best distance so we might look at Aussie.”

Out of the Zabeel mare Winning Spree, Silent Achiever is a half-sister to four winners including the Gr 2 Wellington Guineas placegetter Anotherchancetaken (No Excuse Needed). It is also the family of American Gr 2 winner and successful sire Don’t Say Halo.

Oilman’s stud stake could change course of NZ breeding

Eighteen months ago, Texas oilman Nelson Bunker Hunt walked through the lush Waikato pasture of Matamata’s Balcarres Stud and announced he wanted some just like it for his own.

Today he has-360 acres about a mile down the road which has been transformed from a dairy farm to one of New Zealand’s leading horse and cattle breeding establishments.

9 July 2026

WS graduate Honour Roll out to add stakes success at Otaki

Waikato Stud will be cheering on one of its promising graduates on Friday when Honour Roll contests the Listed John Turkington Forestry Castletown Stakes (1200m) at Otaki. The WS-bred son of the late Champion sire …