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O’Neill fillies are firing
Paul Symes
ANZ News
After another profitable weekend extended Prime Thoroughbreds’ flying start to the season, the successful syndicator’s founder Joe O’Neill is hopeful that hot streak can continue when Cavalry Girl (Bivouac) lines up in Saturday’s Carlyon Stakes (Gr 3, 1000m) as the prelude to a potential tilt at the Moir Stakes (Gr 1, 1000m).
The diversity of O’Neill’s operation was ably demonstrated in the space of 24 hours, as lightly-raced mare Shadhavar (Pride Of Dubai) sealed back-to-back stakes wins in the Regal Roller Stakes (Listed, 1200m) at Caulfield on Saturday before evergreen eight-year-old The Cunning Fox (Reliable Man) carried the Prime colours to a valiant victory in the JJ Houlahan Hurdle (3250m) at Ballarat on Sunday.
That latter triumph, achieved with a late turn of foot which even Shadhavar would have been proud of, took Prime Thoroughbreds’ overall tally of wins to 1,150 since O’Neill initially joined forces with former trainer Bill Mitchell to start syndicating horses in the late 1990s.
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Throw in a minor placing in Saturday’s Quezette Stakes (Gr 3, 1100m) for filly Oh Yes She Did (Yes Yes Yes), whose half-sister Rubikai (Rubick) is a member of O’Neill’s select broodmare band, and it is easy to see why the 70-year-old is looking to the future with a fair degree of optimism.
On the immediate horizon is Cavalry Girl’s upcoming reconnaissance mission to Sandown, which in Moonee Valley’s absence also plays host to the Moir Stakes this year.
With three wins and a pair of placings from her five starts this prep for trainer Tom Dabernig, including a maiden black-type triumph by 4.5 lengths which will ensure a bumper payday for her owners when she is eventually auctioned as a broodmare prospect, Cavalry Girl’s scintillating form has seen her installed by bookmakers as a $10 chance for the sprint feature.
The daughter of Darley’s Bivouac (Exceed And Excel) was acquired for $110,000 at the 2024 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale by O’Neill, who primarily targets reasonably-priced fillies and seemingly has an uncanny knack of knowing which first-season sires to hitch his wagon to.
From the same extended family as Newgate’s stallion-in-waiting Campione D’Italia (Snitzel) as well as the Group 3 victor Espionage (Zoustar), who is standing his first season at Lovatsville, Cavalry Girl is already worth a pretty penny; but if she could add a topline triumph to an already glowing CV, the four-year-old would likely command more as a broodmare than the $1.4 million Prime’s former flagbearer Rubisaki (Rubick) realised in 2024.
That, of course, is purely hypothetical but what is certain is that, with her natural early speed and ability to handle on-pace pressure, Cavalry Girl appears tailor-made for a race like the Moir Stakes – provided she shows a liking for Sandown on her first visit to the venue.
“We’ll know more after Saturday but if she could win the Carlyon Stakes, then we’d obviously have to seriously consider having a crack at the Moir,” O’Neill told ANZ News.
“She’s only just turned four and it can be a difficult adjustment for fillies coming out of their three-year-old season, so to do what she did last time was very impressive because she absolutely brained a pretty handy field [by 3.75 lengths].
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“She’s in great form and she’s still only lightly-raced, but we won’t push her if we don’t think she’s ready for it. Tom’s very patient with his horses, so we’ll take it slowly with her but she’s already won a stakes race and the way she won that day at Caulfield, I don’t see any reason why she can’t take the next step.”
As for Shadhavar, who was purchased for $25,000 less than her stablemate Cavalry Girl, O’Neill is hopeful that – like two other celebrated daughters of Pride Of Dubai (Street Cry) in Bella Nipotina and Pride Of Jenni – the lightly-raced mare can continue to improve with age.
With just 15 starts on her racing resumé, Shadhavar has been conservatively managed by Dabernig who also prepares another potentially precocious product in Hellfire Jess (Hellbent), Prime’s leading Thousand Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) hope whose dam Flying Jess (Hinchinbrook) won the 2017 Magic Millions 3YO Guineas (RL, 1400m) for O’Neill.
Shadhavar will go in search of her fourth win in succession in the Courtza Stakes (G3, 1200m) – formerly known as the Cockram Stakes – at Caulfield in a fortnight’s time, with a myriad of options available to connections thereafter.
“She’s so big and strong that if you didn’t know any better, you’d think she was a colt,” O’Neill told ANZ News.
“She’s very typical of the breed, we’ve seen that Pride of Dubai mares just seem to get better with age so that’s very exciting because she’s already a highly-quality race mare. The Memsie looks a very strong edition so we’ll look at a slightly weaker race that day, and it would be lovely if she could add another stakes win to her page because she’s very well bred – her third dam Helen Street is the mother of Street Cry.
“She was a beautiful type when we bought her at the sales as a filly, and we managed to pick her up for a pretty decent price. I work closely with Bill [Mitchell] and if we both find a horse that we like, we’ll then look at how deep its pedigree is to work out what we think it’s worth and how much we’re willing to spend. Cavalry Girl cost us $110,000 and I don’t usually go any higher than $150,000 at the sales, unless I really like one.
“we’ve seen that Pride of Dubai mares just seem to get better with age so that’s very exciting because she’s already a highly-quality race mare
“We stick to our processes, and we’ve got a pretty good track record with our purchases – of the 360-odd horses we’ve syndicated, I think only around 12 or 13 haven’t made it to the races. We’re very meticulous and our clients trust us, but we still have to make it affordable for them and if the fillies can perform well on the racetrack, the owners will make a bit of money when they’re sold as broodmares.”
O’Neill will again be shopping extensively at the yearling sales next season, and he has identified Twin Hills Stud’s Daumier as a stallion who might emerge as a force to be reckoned with in 2027 and beyond.
On his recent visit to Darley Stud, O’Neill was particularly taken with the poise and presence of Tentyris (Street Boss), but he believes that another former Godolphin galloper offers excellent value for money at a current service fee of just $16,500.
“I bought the best two Daumier yearlings at the Magic Millions in January,” he told ANZ News.
“We bought a filly out of Dominant Lady for $85,000 and another filly out of Arizona Night for $40,000, they were both from the Twin Hills draft and both have broken in beautifully. I really rate him as an up-and-coming stallion, and I also think Brave Smash will have a good season with his first crop out of the Yarraman mares. I would expect him to be kicking goals and I also think Tiger Of Malay is going to start making his mark, especially if he can get some better mares.
“Tentyris is also a really beautiful horse, I saw him last week and I was so impressed. He’ll get every opportunity to make it with the nice mares that Darley will be sending him, but I suspect his yearlings might be out of our price range so we may have to shop around the edges a bit more. I’d love to buy more of the Bivouacs next year if we can afford them, we’ve got three by him and I really like them.”
