Smart filly on stakes trail

11 February 2014

The well-named Sports Illustrated showed her style on the big stage at Te Rapa on Saturday when she won on the Group One undercard. The Garry Chittick-bred and raced filly gave ample evidence she was a black type filly in waiting with a powerful performance to claim her second victory in four career starts.

“She’s a big, rangy horse for a three-year-old and we might look at something like the Breeders’ Stakes at Te Aroha and give her a race or two beforehand,” said Andrew Forsman, who prepares her at Cambridge with Murray Baker.

A daughter of Fast ‘n’ Famous and the Pins mare Pin Up, Sports Illustrated was a winner at her New Plymouth debut and was unplaced before she finished third at Ellerslie after a wide trip. She was dropped back in the field today by Mark Du Plessis and came with a sustained finish from last at the 600 metre mark to win with authority.

First Stakes Winner For Banquo

Waikato Stud stallion Banquo was a stakes winner on the track and now he has sired his first stakes winner as Kris Shalier’s Justin Case delivered a dominant performance to pull clear in the G3 …

13 February 2026

Waikato invest in next generation with Return To Conquer to join its roster

Joining a long legacy of breed-shaping stallions to stand at Waikato Stud, three generations of the Chittick family have placed their confidence in Return To Conquer, with the A$1.3 million yearling and unbeaten Group 1-winning son of the four-time Champion Sire and Champion Two-Year-Old sire, Snitzel, to take his position on the Waikato roster in 2026.