O’Reilly mare a deserved winner

30 November 2018

Be Instant ridden by Damien Oliver wins the Battery Zone F&M Maiden Plate at Racing.com Park Racecourse. (Leonie Grbic/Racing Photos)

Lightly-raced O’Reilly four-year-old Be Instant has struck her first winning blow in Australia for Waikato Stud.

She had run three placings before justifying her favouritism at Pakenham yesterday.

Be Instant is trained by long-time stud supporter Danny O’Brien and was ridden to victory by Damien Oliver.

Part-owned by Mark Chittick, she is out of the stakes performed Pins mare Splitsecond.

It is the family of the Gr.1 Arrowfield Stud Stakes winner Sixty Seconds.

Be Instant’s half-sister by Ocean Park will be sold as Lot 431 during Book 1 at Karaka next year.

Meanwhile, the stud also enjoyed recent success with Savabeel’s daughter Firefly who scored at Pukekohe.

The five-year-old is trained by Stephen Marsh and now has two wins on the board.

Firefly is out of the O’Reilly mare Starry and is from the family of the Gr.3 Gloaming Stakes winner and Group One performer Strike The Stars.

G3 TAB Mile trifecta for Waikato sires

Recording his first Group victory, and second at black-type level after success in the Listed Lindauer Stewards Stakes some 12 months back, Ocean Park gelding Mystic Park led home an impressive one-two-three result for the Waikato stallions, defeating Sir Albert (Savabeel) and Cannon Hill (Ardrossan) in Wednesday’s Gr.3 TAB Mile (1600m) at Riccarton Park.

12 November 2025

The Corner with Garry Chittick

Sometimes you wonder, other times you realise what’s the point. We have two new Board members to help guide Thoroughbred Racing to a brighter, more enlightened future. Now, I don’t know either, and I am sure they have been confirmed for the right reasons – I think my concern is where is it our leaders believe they are taking us.