Filly’s high cruising speed blitzes Doomben rivals

Cruising Speed

The well-related Cruising Speed showed this afternoon that she had inherited a good measure of the family ability. The lightly-tried Savabeel filly was making her second appearance at Doomben where she coasted to an easy front-running victory over 1350m.
Trained by John Meagher with his sons Chris and Dan, the three-year-old is raced by the Grant Morgan-managed syndication company Ontrack Thoroughbreds. The Queensland-based operation purchased the filly out of WS’s 2014 Premier Sale draft for $80,000.
Cruising Speed is out of the O’Reilly mare Vanilla Sky, who has left the stakes winner Raid (Pins) and the dam of the Gr 1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes winner Stratum Star. Vanilla Sky’s colt by Rock ‘N’ Pop sold to Victorian interests at Karaka last month for $210,000.

 

Recent News
14 July 2026

Tivaci’s Movie Night steals the show at Newcastle

A sister to the Gr.1 ATC Flight Stakes (1600m) winner Never Been Kissed, the Waikato Stud-bred and raced Movie Night (NZ) was rewarded for her consistency, breaking her maiden with an all-the-way win over 1400m at Newcastle for trainer Tom Charlton.

Read More
9 July 2026

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.

Read More