Best On Breeding

Mark Smith - Thursday November 1

After winning five of her 11 starts for trainers Stephen Autridge and Jamie Richards, Shillelagh has added just two more wins from 17 starts for Chris Waller, but no doubt the least concerned about that stat are the mare’s owners and breeders, Christopher and Susanna Grace.

For the seven-year-old daughter of Savabeel has amassed a small fortune, $1,050,246 to be exact, and can improve on that significantly when she lines up in Saturday’s $500,000 Group 1 Empire Rose Stakes (1600m) at Flemington.

The stars have not aligned for Shillelagh since winning the Group 1 Cantala Stakes (1600m) at Flemington 12 months ago when edging out everyone’s favourite whipping boy, Tom Melbourne.

But in the time that Waller has had her, Shillelagh has raced out of Group company just once and she has lined up in eight Group 1’s including her last two when fourth in both the Epsom Handicap and Randwick and the Toorak Handicap at Caulfield.


Unraced at two and making just one start at three, Shillelagh has been something of a late bloomer, which is not surprising as she is a sister to the Group II Brisbane Cup winner Tullamore who ran third in behind Southern Speed and Green Moon in the 2011 Group 1 Caulfield Cup and at his following start beat all bar the outstanding Americain in the Group II MVRC Drake International Cup.

Tullamore is the first foal and Shillelagh the fifth foal of the Flying Spur mare Trocair. 

Twelve months after foaling Shillelagh, Trocair produced her third stakes winner by Savabeel a filly named Grazia who was a $100,000 purchase for David Ellis at the 2014 New Zealand Bloodstock Premier Yearling Sale from the draft of Little Avondale Stud.

A week before Shillelagh’s career-defining win in the Cantala Stakes, Grazia opened her own stakes account in the Listed Spring Classic at Riccarton.

Trocair has been a regular visitor to Savabeel however in 2016 she foaled a colt by Ocean Park that has been catalogued for the NZB Ready to Run Sale of 2YOs on November 21 and 22.

From a strong stakes-winning family, particularly in Canada, Trocair is a half-sister to the Pins filly Nautique who won a pair of Grade III stakes races in the United States.

Trocair missed to Savabeel in 2016 but was covered by Waikato Stud’s champion again last spring.


(photos Grant Courtney)

Advertisment
More Reading...
Zoustar Mare Wins for Te Akau - Half-Brother for K1
Consistent sprinting mare Egyptian Queen was rewarded for a string of solid performances at Te Rapa on Saturday, powering away with the Lodge Real Estate 1200.
Verdi's Gritty Goldman wins Pakenham Cup
One-time Melbourne Cup favourite Goldman has bounced back to winning form for the first time in more than 18-months when leading throughout to score in the Listed Pakenham Cup (2500m) on Saturday.
Arriving Home Goes Two for Two – Three-Quarter Brother for MM 2025
Talented I Am Invincible filly Arriving Home does her best work on the line and we saw it when she scored on debut at Warwick Farm earlier this month and again when she got there in the last stride to win at Randwick on Saturday.
Sires With Winners - Saturday December 21
Here is the full list of 95 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
No Shock in Supernova
The good times keep on rolling for connections of winning machine Here To Shock(NZ) (Shocking) who plundered the inaugural A$1 million Supernova at Pakenham over his favoured 1400m distance for trainers Ben, Will and JD Hayes.
First Australian Stakes Winner for Blue Point With Tough Juvenile
Blue Point had his long awaited first Australian stakes winner when tough two-year-old filly Icarian Dream overcame a slipped saddle to take the Group III Magic Millions B.J. McLachlan Stakes at Eagle Farm on Saturday.
Another Stakes Win For This Burly Enigma - Leave The Whip At Home
Enigmatic is a word often bandied about in racing but it certainly sits well upon the ample shoulders of Cannonball, a big odds winner of the Listed Magic Millions Falvelon at Eagle Farm on Saturday.
Savabeel Blueblood Wins G3 Desert Gold
A copybook ride by Opie Bosson paved the way for promising filly Showbeel to add a valuable black type success to her career record when she took out the first feature race at Trentham on Saturday, the Group III New Zealand Bloodstock Desert Gold Stakes (1600m).
Savabeel Colt Secures Karaka Million Start
Te Akau Racing’s quest to win the Karaka Million 2YO (1200m) for the fourth year in succession was bolstered considerably when Cool Aza Beel ensured his place in the field with a dominant victory at Tauranga on Friday.
Probabeel Chasing Karaka Million History
High-class filly Probabeel (NZ) (Savabeel) will shoot for a slice of history at the Karaka Million twilight race meeting at Ellerslie on January 25.