Update for O’Reilly colt

27 December 2013

An O’Reilly colt in WS’s travelling party to the upcoming yearling sales was given a major boost at Ellerslie yesterday. Lot 446 in the Premier Sale is a half-brother to the promising staying mare Etoile Filante, who won for the fourth time in her eight-start career on Boxing Day.

Trained by Peter and Dawn Williams, the four-year-old was brought with a timely finishing run to claim the Dunstan Feeds Championship Qualifier by Michael Walker. By Pins, Etoile Filante was bred by WS with David Williams, who races the mare.

She is out of the Listed Marton Cup winner Etoile du Nord, a mare by Zabeel who has also left the multiple Australian winner and Group performer Epingle (Pins). The family also features the Listed Warstep Stakes winner and South Island Filly fo the Year If I Can I Can.

Stakes-winning return for Banquo 3YO Justin Case

An inch-perfect ride from Sam Collett enabled Matamata raider Justin Case (Banquo ex Do Ra Mi) to claim the feature event at Hastings on Saturday, the Listed Timberspan Sir Colin Meads Trophy (1200m).

9 September 2026

The Corner with Garry Chittick

No Corner last week; this week the Annual Thoroughbred Racing Awards night certainly deserves acknowledgment. It is the second of two nights of measurement of Thoroughbred achievements for the year, with the first focussing on our Breeders’ awards.