Sweet Leader The 86th Stakes Winner For O’Reilly
The three-year-old colt finished powerfully to defeat the fillies Honey Rider (Pins) and Flamingo (Pins) and looks capable of further stakes success.
A big colt, very similar in type to his father, Sweet Leader may eventually find a place at stud to continue the O’Reilly (Last Tycoon) legacy which has played a big part in New Zealand breeding in the first two decades of the 21st century.
O’Reilly’s influence in a relatively short time is exceptional. He was champion New Zealand sire four times (2007/08, 2011/12, 2012/13 and 2013/14), won four Centaine Awards, has also had great results with his progeny in Australia and has become increasingly important as a broodmare sire. Daughters of O’Reilly have to date have produced 56 stakes winners, among them 13 Group One winners including the 2017 ATC Australian Derby (Gr 1, 2400m) winner Jon Snow (Iffraaj) and three by Savabeel (Zabeel) who followed him at Waikato Stud.
It is still too early to assess O’Reilly’s contribution as a sire-of-sires although his champion son Alamosa, standing at Wellfield Stud in New Zealand, has made a good start to his stud career while Group One-winning sons Sacred Falls (Waikato Stud, New Zealand) and Shamexpress (Windsor Park Stud, New Zealand) are yet to have runners.
As a racehorse O’Reilly was New Zealand’s Horse of the Year and champion sprinter of the 1996/97 season, his major wins coming in the Telegraph Handicap (Gr 1, 1200m) and the Levin Bayer Classic (Gr 1, 1600m). He also showed his racing class in Australia when second to Mouawad (Zabeel) in the 1997 Australian Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m).
O’Reilly was one of 81 stakes winners worldwide for his sire Last Tycoon (Try My Best) who shuttled to NSW for a number of seasons and has the distinction of being the first shuttle stallion to head the Australian general sires’ list in 1993/94 before the great Danehill (Danzig) began his dominating run.
Courtza (Pompeii Court), O’Reilly’s dam, was an outstanding two-year-old and sprinter, winner in 1989 of the Blue Diamond Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) / Golden Slipper Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) double and at three years of the Ascot Vale Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m).
Last Tycoon’s eight race victories were highlighted by his defeat of Palace Music (The Minstrel) in the Breeders’ Cup Mile (Gr 1, 8f) and as well as being a notable sire of broodmares he has left a number of other successful sire sons, among them Iglesia, the father of prominent Australian sire Written Tycoon.
Returning to Sweet Leader, he represents a blend of a number of New Zealand, Australian and international bloodlines and was bred in New Zealand by his owners Y T Cheung, C K Ho, T W Wong and S S Yang.
His Australian-bred dam Sweet Lady (Encosta De Lago) won over 1400 metres in Australia. Sweet Leader is her third foal but earlier full relations Swift Lady (O’Reilly) and Sweet Shamrock (O’Reilly) have also shown good ability. Still to race for the mare are Voodoo Lady (Pins), a now two-year-old, and a yearling filly by Ocean Park (Thorn Park).
Sweet Lady is a half-sister to the high class performer Le Zagaletta (Last Tycoon), winner of eight stakes races up to Group Two level and of more than $1,300,000 in prizemoney. Their dam Swiftsynd (Swift Gun), a Group Three winner and runner-up in a Group One, is a half-sister to stakes winners Spot The Rock (Mighty Avalanche) and Candy Rock (Mighty Avalanche).
Looking further back in Sweet Leader’s pedigree, racing enthusiasts will be pleased to see the name of popular champion Gunsynd (Sunset Hue) as the sire of Sweet Leader’s third dam Candysynd while Sweet Leader’s fourth dam Candy Sauce (Legal Venture) is a half-sister to top class two-year-old and sprinter Prince Max (Renegade), winner of three races now recognised as Group One races, out of Grand Maxine (Rego).