O’Reilly set for clean sweep
aspirant Vespa, has been recognised with nominations for the Owner of the Year and Breeder of the Year titles. Additionally, Silent Achiever’s dam Winning Spree is nominated for the Broodmare of the Year award, for which her rivals will include Iguazu’s Girl, the Waikato Stud-owned dam of dual Doncaster Mile winner Sacred Falls.
Garry Chittick is yet again in the running for the Breeder of the Year title off the back of another outstanding season headed by Sacred Falls, Costume, Hera and Diademe, while Puccini’s Karapiro owner-breeders Paul and Cushla Smithies are nominated for the Owner category under their Monovale Holdings banner.
Just about all awards will be keenly contested and no certain winner can be predicted, but one that looks a foregone conclusion is Jockey of the Year, which seems Matthew Cameron’s for the taking. It will be thoroughly deserved too for the Te Akau Racing stable rider, who had to endure the frustration of being narrowly beaten for the jockeys’ premiership in the two previous seasons.
Despite an injury that sidelined him for weeks in the autumn, Cameron has come through with an easy title win. His tally of 143, is 25 clear of his nearest rival.