O’Reilly’s Stellar Run Continues

Talented O’Reilly mare Emerald Queen (NZ) (O’Reilly) captured the first stakes win of her career with victory in the Listed $70,000 Valachi Downs South Island Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes at Riccarton on Saturday to become the 71st stakes winner for her sire.

Emerald Queen (NZ) successful in the Listed Valachi Downs South Island Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes. Photo courtesy of Race Images Chch Ltd.

It was a great day for Waikato Stud sire O’Reilly who sired two stakes winners on Saturday with the other being Group 1 Ranvet Stakes winner Silent Achiever. O’Reilly was crowned the Champion Sire in New Zealand last year and once again sits at the top the standings this year.

It was also a great day for part-owner Kevin Hickman who owns Silent Achiever (NZ) (O’Reilly), Saturday’s triumphant winner of the Group 1 Ranvet Stakes at Rosehill against Australia’s best horses.

Trained by Shane Kennedy & Anna Furlong, the four-year-old mare was too good for her competitors over the 1600m as she raced away for a resounding victory by 1.8 lengths for rider Vanessa Johnston from Sucre (NZ) (Ishiguru) and Rohaise (NZ) (Towkay).

“We certainly expected her to go well,” commented Kennedy. “Her start before was to get ready for that race and we felt she was pretty spot on all week so we were confident she would go well.

“She was perfectly ridden, she got into the race at the right time and the way she finished the race off was very pleasing, she sprinted well on a track they were struggling to sprint on earlier in the day.

“She will probably have one more run this time which may be in the Canterbury Gold Cup and then she will go for a spell and get ready for the spring.

“I talked to Kevin Hickman before Silent Achiever’s race and he was absolutely over the moon with our win and to top it off with Silent Achiever over there it couldn’t get much better I wouldn’t have thought.”

Saturday’s win was the fifth for Emerald Queen from 18 starts and has earned $144,040 for her owners W J Bell, R F Cocks, K J Hickman, M S Mene & B A Roberts.

Bred by Kevin Hickman, Emerald Queen is out of unraced mare Scarlet Queen (Fasliyev) who is also the dam of the Group 3 Grand Prix Stakes placegetter Red Shift (Lucky Unicorn). Race sponsor Valachi Downs offered Emerald Queen at the 2011 Karaka Select Sale where she was passed in.