O’Reilly Passes Away Peacefully

31 December 2014

Waikato Stud is very saddened to report that our legendary sire O’Reilly passed away peacefully in his paddock this morning.

“I have to say, I’ve had better years,” said Waikato Stud’s Mark Chittick.

“All good things must come to an end. O’Reilly has been wholly and solely responsible for the go forward and momentum of Waikato Stud as we know it today.

“We could not be more proud of his achievements or more thankful for his legacy.

“He has certainly been a breed shaper and we are indeed fortunate to be able to continue his amazing influence at the stud through his daughters and with his exciting sire son Sa-cred Falls in 2015.

“He has provided us and many people with some terrific highlights and will continue to do so in the future.”

O’Reilly was 21 years old.

The Corner with Garry Chittick

The two of you will be aware of my ongoing concern as to the future of our sport. You could argue I have a vested interest; well, I did have, but my interest now is to give the future generations the opportunity my generation had. Now I can tell you, hand on heart, there were many financial thin times. 1975 was my fledgling start with five mares on 130 acres that occasionally flooded with the well-bred, non-race-winning Super Gray.

12 August 2026

Classy Debut Victory For Major Beel’s Brother Savagram

From a pedigree known all too well by the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott stable, 3yo Savabeel colt Savagram (NZ) kicked off his race career in the best possible way, highlighting himself as a potential black-type performer.