Silent Achiever will be at the top of her game when she bids to open her winning account in Sydney this Saturday, according to trainer Roger James.
The O’Reilly four-year-old was narrowly beaten last time out in the Gr.1 BMW at Rosehill by Fiveandahalfstar and hadn’t missed a beat in the lead-up to the Gr.1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
“She’s had three weeks to freshen up since the mile and a-half (2400 metres) and she will go into it a very fit mare,” James said.
Also placed in last season’s Gr.1 Rosehill Guineas, Silent Achiever will have a change of rider at the weekend with a suspended James McDonald to be replaced by Tommy Berry, who has enjoyed a dream season with five Group One titles.
The 22-year-old has already claimed the Sydney carnival’s feature Golden Slipper-Doncaster Mile double with Overreach and the New Zealand-bred three-year-old Sacred Falls. Following Saturday’s Randwick meeting he will take up a three-month contract in Hong Kong.
In the meantime, the focus will be on Silent Achiever’s bid for major Queen Elizabeth honours and James said both he and Berry were delighted with the mare’s work at Randwick on Tuesday morning.
“Tommy rode her and we’re all happy. I’m not concerned about the weather either – she handles both sorts of tracks and it wasn’t good for the BMW and she coped very well.”
Silent Achiever could also make an appearance during the Queensland winter carnival, although a decision on Brisbane has taken a back seat to more immediate matters.
“She may go up for the Doomben Cup, but we’ll wait and see what happens on Saturday first,” he said.
- NZTM
