Silent Achiever (18 September 2008 – 4 February 2021)[1] was a champion New Zealand Thoroughbred racehorse. On 3 March 2012, she won the 137th running of the New Zealand Derby. She was the first filly to win the race since 1993, and only the fourth in the last 45 years.
| Silent Achiever | |
|---|---|
| Sire | O'Reilly |
| Grandsire | Last Tycoon |
| Dam | Winning Spree |
| Damsire | Zabeel |
| Sex | Filly |
| Foaled | 18 September 2008 |
| Died | 4 February 2021 (aged 12) |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Colour | Bay |
| Breeder | Kevin Hickman |
| Owner | Kevin Hickman |
| Trainer | Roger James |
| Record | 30:10-3-3 |
| Earnings | A$$3,540,490 |
| Major wins | |
| The BMW Stakes (2014) Ranvet Stakes (2014) New Zealand Stakes (2014) New Zealand Derby (2012) Championship Stakes (2012) Crystal Mile (2012) | |
Background
editSilent Achiever was trained by Roger James at his Kingsclere Stables[2] in Cambridge, New Zealand. She was bred by Kevin Hickman of Valachi Downs,[3] near Matamata. Hickman noted, "She's got a very balanced pedigree and she's got a very good cardiovascular system and a great turn of foot. Zabeel gives her that stamina and O'Reilly gives her that turn of foot. She's got a great brain on her too. She thinks the runs the world. She's arrogant and she's got a big opinion of herself. She's going to be one of the foundation mares at Valachi Downs that was born and bred on the farm."[4]
Racing career
editSilent Achiever was a maiden until 7 December, so a nomination for the Derby wasn't even considered when first nominations were taken in late November. But what followed after her maiden win was an extraordinary rise to stardom. Silent Achiever finished third behind 1000 Guineas winner Planet Rock in the Group 2 Eight Carat Classic on Boxing Day, then won the Group 2 Championship Stakes on 1 January, the Group 3 Waikato Guineas on 28 January - beating then-Derby favourite Ocean Park- and the Group 2 Avondale Guineas on 18 February.[citation needed]
The series of wins was so impressive that she started $2.30 favourite in the New Zealand Derby. And she more than justified the favouritism with an emphatic two-and-a-half-length win over 2000 Guineas winner Rock 'n' Pop.[citation needed]
In her Australian debut, Silent Achiever ran a fast-finishing third behind Laser Hawk in the Rosehill Guineas. That performance saw her start one of the favourites for the Australian Derby, where she finished sixth.[citation needed]
Silent Achiever resumed in the spring of 2012 with a fourth placing at Te Rapa before crossing the Tasman for a two-race Melbourne campaign. She won the Crystal Mile at Moonee Valley Racecourse - the first time a mare has ever won the race.[citation needed]
Following a frustrating 2013 in which she was narrowly beaten in The BMW Stakes[5] and suffered an injury just days out from the Melbourne Cup,[6] Silent Achiever returned to form in 2014 with wins in the New Zealand Stakes and Ranvet Stakes. The latter was her first Group 1 win on Australian soil, and it came in a race billed as "a duel for the title of best horse in the country".[7] At her next start she was successful in The BMW Stakes over 2400m at Rosehill, again defeating It's A Dundeel and Fiorente.[8]
Her Spring campaign got off to a disappointing start with unplaced runs in her first three races, but she returned to form when finishing a close third in the Cox Plate behind Adelaide and Fawkner.[9]
Retirement and death
editSilent Achiever retired in May 2015 and was sent to England. As a broodmare she delivered:
- a filly by Frankel called Lady Faustina, which became a broodmare [10]
- a colt by Franke][11]
- a colt by Galileo
- a colt by Kingman.[12]
She was also covered by Ocean Park in 2020 but died in early 2021.[13][14]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Silent Achiever horse form guide, history, breeding and career stats". Punters.com.au. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
- ^ "Roger James Racing NZ Thoroughbred Trainer Cambridge - Kingsclere Stables". www.kingsclerestables.co.nz.
- ^ "Valachi Downs - New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders - Thoroughbred Stud » Valachi Downs". www.valachidowns.co.nz.
- ^ "The Informant: New Zealand Racing news, form and punting".
- ^ "Motorsport Video |Motorsport Highlights, Replays, News, Clips".
- ^ "Racing Victoria - Racing Victoria Limited - Silent Achiever out of Melbourne Cup". Archived from the original on 6 April 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
- ^ "Ranvet to determine the best: Fiorente or It's A Dundeel". 20 March 2014.
- ^ Roots, Chris (5 April 2014). "Silent Achiever rises to top after beating cream of the crop in The BMW". The Sydney Morning Herald.
- ^ Williamson, Caryl (25 October 2014). "Adelaide triumphs in Australia for Ireland". The Sydney Morning Herald.
- ^ "Stuff".
- ^ "Prospects all good for Valachi Downs chief". The New Zealand Herald. 2 August 2017. Archived from the original on 5 February 2023.
- ^ "Silent Achiever Foals a Kingman Colt | Breednet".
- ^ https://www.racingnews.co.nz/silent-achiever-dies-at-age-12/ [bare URL]
- ^ "James remembers Silent Achiever".