Happy days for filly

4 January 2019

Happily To Be (NZ) ridden by Damien Thornton wins the Kellys Country Homes Maiden Plate at Seymour Racecourse on December 30, 2018 in Seymour, Australia. (Brett Holburt/Racing Photos)

Well-related filly Happily To Be looks a three-year-old with a bright future in Australia for Waikato Stud.

The well-related filly has been lightly-tried by Flemington trainer Danny O’Brien and has made an encouraging start to her career.

The daughter of Pins placed in two of her first three starts before breaking her maiden at Seymour last time out.

Bred and part-owned by the Matamata nursery, she is a daughter of the O’Reilly mare Merrily.

She is a half-sister to the stakes winner Glad and the family of the champion mare Black Caviar.

Happily To Be is also a half-sister to the Stephen Marsh-trained Exuberant.

A $160,000 Karaka yearling, the son of Savabeel won the Listed Wellesley Stakes on debut.

Black-type breakthrough for Hurry Curry

Previously a placegetter at Group 1 and Group 2 level, Waikato Stud’s homebred mare Hurry Curry (Ocean Park ex Hurry) secured a valuable first black-type victory in the A$175,000 Listed RM Ansett Classic (2400m) at Mornington on Saturday.

24 September 2026

WS-bred son of Noverre wins in Aus

WS-bred 3YO Jean Georges relished the step up in trip to comfortably win his maiden for Chris Waller.