Group Two quinella for O’Reilly

11 February 2014

Champion WS stallion O’Reilly dominated the finish of the Gr.2 Cambridge Stud Sir Tristram Fillies’ Classic at Te Rapa on Saturday. His dashing daughters Hera and Spellbinder were a class above their rivals with the former turning the tables on their last meeting to take the top prize.

A $28,000 purchase for Roger James from the Matamata farm’s 2012 Select Sale line-up, Hera had won the Gr.2 Cambridge Stud Eight Carat Classic on Boxing Day before she was runner-up to Spellbinder in the Listed Karaka 3YO Mile. “I’ll probably put her aside now and look at Brisbane – a race like the Doomben Roses would suit her perfectly,” James said. “An extra three months will really help her.”

Out of the unraced Centaine mare Corsica, Hera is a half-sister to two winners and the family of the dual Group One winner Dandy Andy (Australian Cup, Doomben Cup).

The Corner with Garry Chittick

It would appear I now have to continue my weekly Corner with the amount of rumblings at the start of our new racing season. I have been around long enough to know we can never please all; my tenure as Chairman of the Racing Board was subjected to as much vitriol as subsequent Boards have had to bear, so what’s different this time, or is it different.

5 August 2026

First foal for Waikato’s Group 1 winner Skew Wiff

Group 1-winning Savabeel mare Skew Wiff (ex Starvoia), known affectionately as ‘Wiffy’, foaled a filly by Super Seth in the early hours of Wednesday, 5 August.