Multiple Group 1 winning Kiwi mare Silent Achiever could have run her last race with Cambridge trainer Roger James saying a decision on her future will be made next week.
A decision on multiple Gi winner Silent Achiever’s future will be made early next week. Photo by Race Horse Photos Australia.
Silent Achiever ran the worst race of her career, according to James, when she finished eighth as the $6 favourite in the Group 2 $358,000 Sky Thoroughbred Central A.D. Hollindale Stakes (1800m) at the Gold Coast last Saturday and the valuable mare then suffered a colic attack on the float on her way home from the races.
James is not blaming the sudden oncoming of the colic attack for the below par run but said that connections will decided early next week if Silent Achiever will continue to race on or be retired to stud.
“What has caused it I don’t know, but you have to say that her future is up in the air a little bit as far as a racehorse is concerned,” James told Racing Ahead.
“We decided that we will make no decision until I get back there (New Zealand) on Sunday, Monday.”
“It will probably be early to mid next week I would think.”
“And we are all very aware of what she’s done for us and she comes first.”
James said that he was happy with the condition of Silent Achiever heading into the A.D. Hollindale Stakes coming off a tough Sydney Autumn Carnival campaign.
The four time Group 1 winner raced four times in Sydney for a fifth in the Group 2 $250,000 Optus Apollo Stakes (1400m), a fourth in the Group 1 $500,000 Chipping Norton Stakes (1600m), a fourth in the Group 1 $500,000 Ranvet Stakes (2000m) and a sixth in the Group 1 $1.5m The BMW (2400m).
“I went into Saturday happy enough with her and for the first time really she disappointed me and I am still scratching my head as to why,” James said.
James said the colic attack came on suddenly on the float on the way home from the Gold Coast races and he quickly made arrangements to get her to the vet hospital and it wasn’t until well into Sunday morning that Silent Achiever was out off danger.
“On the float on the way home, they noticed her, two thirds of the way, she was just getting agitated and a bit of signs of colic and we were up all night with her,” James said.
“She had us worried there for a fair while. We made arrangements to get her to the vet hospital which is half way to Ipswich and we sat on that another hour. She had a lot of painkillers and tranquilizers.”
“We choose to ride it out a little bit. She didn’t get any worse but it was probably about three, half past three in the morning we actually saw her markedly improve.”
“Coming Sunday morning she appeared normal and she has been okay ever since.”
The O’Reilly will become a very valuable brood mare after winning her first Group 1 as a three year old when she beat the colts and geldings in the 2012 NZ$750,000 NZ Derby (2400m) at Ellerslie.
She then went onto win a Group 1 hat trick in the Autumn of 2014 with wins in the NZ $200,000 New Zealand Stakes (2000m) at Ellerslie before winning the the Ranvet Stakes and The BMW at Rosehill and also ran third to Adelaide in the 2014 Group 1 $3m Cox Plate (2040m) at Moonee Valley in the Spring.
Silent Achiever has earned over $3 million from ten wins and six minor placings from thirty-five starts.
