Sprinting Stars – Schillaci
If there are two things we learnt during the Turf Heroes series, they are that (1) a surprising number of people seem to like reading about champion thoroughbreds; and (2) Cliff can’t shut up about such horses. With that in mind, Making The Nut is pleased to bring you a ten-part ‘Sprinting Stars’ series, where Cliff Bingham will look back upon the short course specialists who scorched turf at the highest level. Part one of the series looks at the wonderful grey, Schillaci.
Before we get started, a couple of ground rules related to this series.
Turf Heroes was rather subjective. As my younger days were more caught up in the classic spring races such as the Cups double and the Cox Plate, sprinters in the 1990s never got quite the same look in when it came to my admiration.
To ensure they receive their due in this series, I derived a rather basic set of quasi-objective criteria. Namely, how many times in aggregate did each horse win the following open-aged races that in all bar one case (the Group 2 Schillaci Stakes) are either run at Group 1 level now or were at some point in the past 20 years:
Flemington – Lightning Stakes, Newmarket Handicap, Salinger Stakes, Linlithgow Stakes (now known as the Patinack Farm Classic)
Caulfield – Oakleigh Plate, Schillaci Stakes
Moonee Valley – Manikato Stakes, Australia (formerly William Reid) Stakes
Randwick – Galaxy Handicap, TJ Smith
Doomben – BTC Cup, Doomben 10,000
Had the criteria been extended to pick up 1400-metre Group 1 races, we could have added the Orr Stakes, Futurity Stakes, All-Aged Stakes, Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes and Stradbroke Handicap into the mix. However, a look at the honour rolls for these races reveals a lot of ‘milers’ rather than pure sprinters, so the 1350 metres of the Doomben 10,000 is as far as the criteria envelope has been pushed.
Every horse in the Sprinting Stars series won at least three races from the list outline above (noting that does not necessarily mean three different races – for example, two Manikato Stakes wins plus one Galaxy Handicap win = three ‘eligible’ race wins).
I did, however, make one subjective omission from the list – Spark Of Life. A winner of two Manikato Stakes, one Galaxy Handicap and one BTC Cup, I simply couldn’t get past the notion that he was a good sprinter who was outstanding in the wet, rather than an outstanding sprinter who handled wet conditions. This hypothesis is supported (at least in part) by the fact that while he won these races four times in aggregate, he also ran unplaced five times, including two defeats by more than eight lengths. So he missed the cut on subjective grounds. Every other high quality sprinter (and there were some stars amongst them) who missed this list did so because they won the races noted above fewer than three times in aggregate.
With all of that pre-post justification out of the way, let’s move on to the more enjoyable business of talking about champion sprinters, starting with the unmistakable grey Schillaci.
The career
Schillaci began his career on October 22, 1991 in a three year-old maiden race at Kyneton. His winning effort on debut was sufficiently promising for trainer Lee Freedman to take him straight to Flemington for a 1400-metre Listed race during the Melbourne Cup carnival. He ran sixth that day, but two and a half weeks later ran the 1000 metres at Sandown in a blistering 55.5 seconds (equalling the track record) to post a second victory in three starts. This victory also marked the beginning of a hugely successful union with Damien Oliver, and the time he was able to run suggested an outstanding sprinter was in the making. Freedman sent him out for a spell with autumn riches in mind.
He went straight into the deep end in the autumn of 1992, lining up in the Group 1 Lightning Stakes at WFA level in just his fourth career start. In a near capacity field of 18 runners, the lightly raced three year-old once again broke 56 seconds for the 1000-metre dash and secured his first Group 1 victory.
From here it was on to the Group 1 Oakleigh Plate at Caulfield the following week, and the handicapper didn’t miss him, assigning 54.5 kilos (compared to the 54 he had carried under WFA conditions the week prior). No matter – Schillaci broke 1:03, smashing the course and race records, as he defeated another big field of quality sprinters to win a second Group 1 in as many Saturdays.
With due respect to the Australia (William Reid) Stakes, the ‘triple crown’ of Melbourne sprinting has always been the Lightning Stakes, Oakleigh Plate and Newmarket Handicap, all run at Group 1 level. Schillaci lined up to attempt the rare treble (only Placid Ark in 1987 had completed it) with a further kilo on top of his Oakleigh Plate handicap, giving weight to a significant number of well-performed older horses. This was a three year-old who still knew no bounds though, and he defied both history and the handicapper to record a third Group 1 win at just his sixth career start.
A trip to Sydney followed shortly after and with three consecutive Group 1 wins to his name, Schillaci was sent out the popular elect in the Group 2 Canterbury Stakes. However, the winning streak would end here – he was first past the post but lost the race to Alishan in the stewards’ room via a successful protest. Four weeks later he lined up in the Group 1 Galaxy Handicap lumping 57 kilos, a huge weight for a three year-old in a handicap race of such calibre. Yet the big grey would not be denied, posting his fourth Group 1 win in as many attempts at the elite level.
With such scintillating recent form, the lure of the Brisbane winter carnival was too much to resist and thus six weeks after winning the Galaxy, Schillaci carried 59 kilos to victory in the Group 2 QTC Cup at Eagle Farm. Despite running sixth at his only previous attempt at 1400 metres in the spring, the Freedmans pressed on to the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap the following week. History would repeat itself though, as he ran sixth, beaten around two and half lengths by Rough Habit.
After a well-earned spell his four year-old spring campaign was an abbreviated one. His autumn heroics all but ruled him out of handicap races and the suite of autumn WFA sprints was more appealing than the spring collection. With that in mind he ran only twice in the spring of 1992, winning the Group 2 Moir (nowadays Schweppes) Stakes before a disappointing sixth in the Linlithgow Stakes and a spell.
Schillaci’s four year-old autumn campaign would see him return to the top of the sprinting tree. He resumed with a win in the Group 3 Rubiton Stakes, running the 1000 metres at Sandown in a flat 55 seconds. From here it was on to Moonee Valley for the Group 1 William Reid Stakes, where he was edged out by Spanish Mix, and then to Flemington where he recorded a second win in the Lightning Stakes.
Two weeks later he stepped out to 1400 metres for the third time in his career in the Group 1 Orr Stakes at WFA level. The third time proved to be the charm, as he recorded his first victory at the trip and his sixth Group 1 win overall. He then won the Group 3 Stanley Wootton Stakes before a second trip in as many years to Sydney for their Autumn Carnival.
With a Group 1 victory at 1400 metres under his belt, the Freedmans opted to step him up to the 1500 metres of the Group 1 George Ryder Stakes. His dynamic recent form was too much for the Sydney brigade to withstand though, as his debut over the journey resulted in yet another Group 1 for the trophy cabinet.
The greatest test of his career lay in wait though – the Group 1 Doncaster Handicap over the famous Randwick mile. It proved to be a bridge too far though as Schillaci ran 11th, beaten more than four lengths by the winner Skating, before being sent for a spell. Nonetheless, he had amassed 13 wins (including seven Group 1s) and two seconds form just 19 starts in his career to date and was unquestionably the best sprinter in the country.
Thereafter his career became less successful, as injury and illness began to plague him.
His five year-old spring campaign included just the one run, a narrow second to Sports Works in the Moir Stakes. His five year-old autumn campaign in 1994 resulted in a fourth in the William Reid Stakes, a second to Keltrice in the Lightning Stakes, a third in the Orr Stakes to Primacy and a ninth at Listed level in his one Sydney run of the season. Was his career on the downhill slope?
He returned as a six year-old in the spring and carrying 60.5 kilos, won the then Group 3 (now Group 2) Caulfield Sprint first-up. The old boy appeared to be back. The joy was short-lived though, as he ran fifth in the Linlithgow Stakes and fifth again in the Group 3 Sandown Stakes to cap off his preparation.
Beginning his final campaign in January 1995, he opened with a strong win in the Group 3 Rubiton Stakes – as if to signal that there was still some petrol left in the tank. Third placings behind Hareeba in the William Reid Stakes and Jeune in the Orr Stakes followed before he arrived at Caulfield for the Group 1 Futurity Stakes. In a driving finish, he outlasted Jeune and dual Lightning Stakes winner Mahogany, much to the delight of the crowd (we’ll come back to that).
He would not win any of his next four races, finishing behind Hareeba twice, narrowly beaten in the BTC Cup by Seawinne and running fifth to Bulldog Yeats in the QTC Cup.
His swansong would be in the Stradbroke Handicap, carrying 58 kilos and jumping from barrier 15. Running on tired legs at the end of his longest preparation, he gave his backers (not to mention countless general well-wishers) a great sight in the home straight before finishing second to Rouslan, who was immediately tagged a party-pooper for winning a Group 1 race!
Whilst it didn’t provide the fairytale ending hoped for, his final run was a true reflection of the big grey’s immense heart and will to win – a run befitting of such a champion.
The memories
Named after Italian World Cup soccer hero Salvatore Schillaci, the big grey was always a drawcard on race day.
As Lee Freedman once said: "Like all champions, Schillaci has a presence. In his case, it is his unique shape. For a sprinter, he has an incredibly long body. You could land a small plane on his back. When in full stride, he's a machine… lovely straight-legged action and enormous drive from his powerful end."
At the ages of three and four, he was without peer in the sprinting ranks. Yet it wasn’t these performances that truly brought him to the heart of the racing public. It is the Australian way to be drawn to the tenacious battler, the one who clearly has to overcome a degree of adversity to succeed. As he aged and the wins became fewer and further between, he became less admired and more beloved.
Degenerative arthritis in the coffin bones near the top of his hoof line was taking its toll. His 560-odd kilo frame was putting untold pressure on his small hooves – in the end, physics was winning the day. As injury, age and pain all threatened to derail his career, his iron will simply wouldn't it allow the curtain to be drawn.
The two biggest cheers he received on a racecourse came in 1994 and 1995, at a point when to watch him in the mounting yard was to wonder if a walking frame would come in handy for him.
When he won the Caulfield Sprint in 1994, he received a bigger reception than Paris Lane did when winning the Group 1 Caulfield Cup later that day. And when we won the 1995 Futurity, he was taken to each corner of the mounting yard where the fans gave him a rousing reception, a process that went on for a solid ten minutes. The one time naturally gifted star was now a gritty and determined underdog, and racegoers adored him for it.
Such was the esteem in which he was held that the Group 2 WFA 1000 metre race run at Caulfield each October is now known as the Schillaci Stakes – won by Black Caviar in 2011, no less. He was tremendously talented and as brave and determined as any sprinter I’ve seen – a worthy first ‘inductee’ in our Sprinting Stars series.
The stats
Overall record: 36 starts, 16 wins (8 x Group 1s, 2 x Group 2s, 4 x Group 3s), five seconds, five thirds, $2,219,128 prize money
3YO spring (1991): Three starts, two wins
3YO autumn/ winter (1992): Seven starts, five wins (4 x G1, 1 x G2), one second
4YO spring (1992): Two starts, one win (1 x G2)
4YO autumn (1993): Seven starts, five wins (3 x G1, 2 x G3), one second
5YO spring (1993): One start, one second
5YO autumn (1994): Four starts, one second, one third
6YO spring (1994): Three starts, one win (1 x G3)
6YO autumn/ winter: (1995): Nine starts, two wins (1 x G1, 1 x G3), one second, four thirds
Turf Heroes series
Just in case you missed them the first time around, links to each of our Turf Heroes series are below:
(1) Super Impose, (2) Better Loosen Up, (3) Let’s Elope,(4) Octagonal, (5) Saintly, (6) Might and Power, (7) Sunline, (8) Northerly, (9) Lonhro, (10) Makybe Diva
