The Solitaire Notches 54th SW for O’Reilly

7 February 2012

O’Reilly notched his 54th individual stakes winner on Saturday when his 4YO daughter The Solitaire denied all in the Listed Dunedin Gold Cup (2400m).

The ½ length black-type breakthrough followed a previous start win in the Gore Cup and represented the 5th of this variety for owner/breeders Tony, Ray, Marton and Joe Dennis.

All told, the Dennis Brothers-raced mare has achieved NZ$63,225 in earnings and has been a consistent performer for trainer Steve Anderton, with top two placings coming in six of her last seven starts.

The Solitaire is a daughter of The Dazzler, who is a half-sister to the Dennis brothers’ Gr.1 O’Reilly mare The Jewel. It follows then that Saturday’s winner is a ¾ in blood to the said Gr.1 winner.

The Solitaire also represents the 12th Stakes winner bred on the O’Reilly (s), Centaine (ds) cross and is a strong advocate of the cross’ 64.6% Winners-to-Runners ratio.

Tivaci’s Movie Night steals the show at Newcastle

A sister to the Gr.1 ATC Flight Stakes (1600m) winner Never Been Kissed, the Waikato Stud-bred and raced Movie Night (NZ) was rewarded for her consistency, breaking her maiden with an all-the-way win over 1400m at Newcastle for trainer Tom Charlton.

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Oilman’s stud stake could change course of NZ breeding

Eighteen months ago, Texas oilman Nelson Bunker Hunt walked through the lush Waikato pasture of Matamata’s Balcarres Stud and announced he wanted some just like it for his own.

Today he has-360 acres about a mile down the road which has been transformed from a dairy farm to one of New Zealand’s leading horse and cattle breeding establishments.