Silent Achiever (foaled 18 September 2008) is a champion

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

. On 3 March 2012, she won the 137th running of the

New Zealand Derby The New Zealand Derby is a set-weights Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds, run over a distance of 2,400 metres (12 furlongs) at Ellerslie Racecourse in Auckland, New Zealand. It is held on the first Saturday in March, as the opening day o ...

. She was the first filly to win the race since 1993, and only the fourth in the last 45 years.

Background

Silent Achiever is trained by Roger James at his Kingsclere Stables in

Cambridge, New Zealand Cambridge (Māori: ''Kemureti'') is a town in the Waipa District of the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. Situated southeast of Hamilton, on the banks of the Waikato River, Cambridge is known as "The Town of Trees & Champions" ...

. She was bred by Kevin Hickman of Valachi Downs, 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."

Racing career

Silent 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 The Championship Stakes, run at Ellerslie Racecourse, is a Group 2 horse race run for three-year-olds at Ellerslie Racecourse in Auckland, New Zealand. When the New Zealand Derby was moved from December to March in the 2005-06 season, the race w ...

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. 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. 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. Silent Achiever resumed in the spring of 2012 with a fourth placing at

Te Rapa Te Rapa is a mixed light industrial, large-scale retail and semi-rural suburb to the northwest of central Hamilton, New Zealand that is built on a flat area that was previously the bed of an ancient river, the forerunner to the present Waikato ...

before crossing the Tasman for a two-race Melbourne campaign. She won the

Crystal Mile The Crystal Mile is a Moonee Valley Racing Club Group 2 Thoroughbred horse race held under Weight for Age conditions for horses aged three years old and upwards, over a distance of 1600 metres held at Moonee Valley Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia ...

Moonee Valley Racecourse Moonee Valley Racecourse, currently marketed as The Valley, is a horse-racing track in Moonee Ponds, Melbourne, Victoria Australia. History Moonee Valley Racecourse was established in 1883 by William Samuel (W.S.) Cox, who purchased a farm ...

- the first time a mare has ever won the race. Following a frustrating 2013 in which she was narrowly beaten in The BMW Stakes and suffered an injury just days out from the Melbourne Cup, Silent Achiever returned to form in 2014 with wins in the

New Zealand Stakes The New Zealand Stakes currently run as the Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes is a Group One thoroughbred horse race in New Zealand. It is run at Ellerslie racecourse on the final day of the Auckland Cup Week Carnival in March for a stake of $200,0 ...

and

Ranvet Stakes The Ranvet Stakes is an Australian Turf Club Group One, Group 1 Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds and older over a distance of 2,000 metres, held at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse in Sydney, Australia in March. Total prize mo ...

. 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". At her next start she was successful in The BMW Stakes over 2400m at Rosehill, again defeating

It's A Dundeel Dundeel, or It’s a Dundeel as he is known in Australia, is a champion New Zealand Thoroughbred racehorse. He is the fifth and most recent winner of the Australian Triple Crown. Background Dundeel is a bay colt trained by Murray Baker and And ...

and

Fiorente Fiorente (foaled 2008) is a Thoroughbred racehorse bred in Ireland and trained in Australia. When racing in Europe, he showed high-class form, winning the Princess of Wales's Stakes in 2012. He had greater success when campaigned in Australia, ...

. 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 The W. S. Cox Plate is a Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged three years old and over under Weight for age conditions, over a distance of 2040 metres (approximately 1m 2f), that is held by the Moonee Valley Racing Club at Moo ...

behind Adelaide and Fawkner.

References

{{reflist 2008 racehorse births Racehorses bred in New Zealand Racehorses trained in New Zealand Thoroughbred family 1-x Matamata

Background

Racing career

See also

References