O’Reilly Filly Leads Derby Market

A top-notch daughter of WS stallion O’Reilly today claimed outright favouritism for the Gr 1 New Zealand Derby with an emphatic winning performance at Ellerslie on Saturday. Silent Achiever was untouched to claim the Gr 2 Avondale Guineas and lead the market for the Blue Riband classic.

The filly bided the time toward the back of the field before she quickly made ground wide near the turn. She quickly coasted to the front in the straight and cruised to the line under a hands and heels ride from james McDonald.

“She got there very quickly and probably a bit early, but she stayed on to the line with ease,” Cambridge trainer Roger James said. “I couldn’t be any more pleased with her and she relaxed beautifully and just outstayed them.”

Bred and raced by Kevin Hickman, Silent Achiever has won four of her six starts and at her previous appearance had triumhped in both the Gr 2 Championship Stakes and the Gr 3 Waikato Guineas. She is out of the winning Zabeel mare Winning Spree who is also the dam of Gr 2 perfomrer Anotherchancetaken (No Excuse Needed).