Australia: Silent Achiever on a roll for Rosehill Guineas

The filly Silent Achiever, who beat males in the Group 1 New Zealand Derby in Auckland on March 3, will be favored to win her fifth group stakes of 2012 in Saturday’s $535,000 Rosehill Guineas at Rosehill Gardens racecourse in Sydney, Australia.

A New Zealand-bred filly, Silent Achiever is part of a full field of 18 in the Group 1 Rosehill Guineas. Silent Achiever, by the New Zealand-bred sire O’Reilly, has drawn post 17, but is expected to move two positions to the inside because of late scratches. The Rosehill Guineas is run over about 1 1/4 miles on turf for Southern Hemisphere 3-year-olds. Silent Achiever is a 4-year-old by Northern Hemisphere standards.

Trained by Roger James, Silent Achiever won two stakes in February – the Waikato Guineas and Avondale Guineas.

Other top contenders in the Rosehill Guineas include Rock ‘N’ Pop, second in the New Zealand Derby; Said Com, second in the Group 1 Randwick Guineas on March 18; and Highly Recommended, the winner of the Group 2 Alister Clark Stakes at Moonee Valley on March 12.

One notable absence is Mosheen, who won two Group 1 races earlier this month – the Australian Guineas and Randwick Guineas. A filly, Mosheen is expected to make her next start in the Group 1 Vinery Stud Stakes at Rosehill on April 7.