Back with a Vigor

26 July 2011

Danny O’Brien is confident that his former Group One placegetter Vigor (NZ) (O’Reilly) can make a successful return to the track when he resumes his racing career in the G2 Memsie Stakes over 1400m at Caulfield next month.

O’Brien had hoped to bring the O’Reilly gelding back into action for the Sydney autumn carnival, however after he tailed off in the Australia Stakes at Moonee Valley, O’Brien knew something wasn’t right with the horse.

“He had a small growth on in his throat which had to be taken out. It was a minor operation and he has come back really well,” O’Brien said.

“He has been back in the stable a while and is doing well in the early stages of his preparation. He will resume in the Memsie Stakes and we will map out a plan from there.”

Vigor was a star for O’Brien earlier in his career and as a four year old he was able to string together five consecutive wins. However it was in the spring carnival of 2009 that the gelding really made a name for himself. He won the Makybe Diva Stakes at Flemington, beating home the likes of (2009/10 horse of the year) Typhoon Tracy, St George’s Stakes winner Heart of Dreams and Master O’Reilly.

Source: www.races.com.au

The Corner with Garry Chittick

I keep on proposing my retirement from the burden of a weekly Corner. I make the excuse it is hard to be credible, hard to let the two of you know about anything in our sport that hasn’t been covered before.

27 October 2025

WS-bred On The Lash scores at Sha Tin

Twenty-four hours following the final WS Cox Plate meeting run on the Moonee Valley track of old before it shuts for two years to make way for a new precinct, the race’s 2004 winner, Savabeel, continued his roll of runners, and this time it was via five-year-old On The Lash (ex Candelabra) at Sha Tin.