Kerrin McEvoy will be the new jockey for Silent Achiever when the outstanding New Zealand mare makes her return to racing at Randwick on Saturday.
Silent Achiever starts a 2015 campaign that could take in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe when she runs in the weight-for-age Apollo Stakes.
Silent Achiever
McEvoy’s booking for the four-time Group One winner came after it was confirmed Hugh Bowman will ride Lucia Valentina in the race.
McEvoy won first-up on Lucia Valentina in the spring and he was also in the saddle in the mare’s Turnbull Stakes win and Caulfield Cup placing.
With Nash Rawiller unable to return from Hong Kong to take the ride on Silent Achiever, James said he was happy to secure McEvoy.
“Kerrin hasn’t ridden her before but I think he will suit her,” James said.
One of the stars of last year’s Sydney autumn carnival with wins in The BMW and Ranvet Stakes, Silent Achiever will arrive in Sydney on Wednesday night.
James expects the Apollo distance to be too short for Silent Achiever, the highest-rated horse among 18 entries for the 1400-metre race.
He has made no further Sydney plans for Silent Achiever beyond the Chipping Norton Stakes and the Ranvet Stakes but is adamant the thought of a European campaign would not impact on her autumn program.
“Sydney comes first and we’ll sit down and talk about Europe later,” James said.
Silent Achiever will be having her first start since her close third in the Cox Plate, a placing that was easily her best run during a mixed spring campaign.
Chris Waller has stacked the entry list for the Apollo, a Group Two race he won for the first and only time when Danleigh was successful in 2010.
Waller’s nominations include He’s Your Man and Opinion, spring Group One winners of the Epsom Handicap and Metropolitan respectively.
Godolphin star Contributer will resume in the race as he steps out for his second campaign under trainer John O’Shea.
Contributer’s introduction to Australian racing in the spring resulted in a first-up win over 2000m at Caulfield and he has been set for a Melbourne return to contest next month’s $1 million Australian Cup.
Veteran Jim Cassidy will be back in the jockeys’ room on Saturday for the first time since late December and he will reunite with the Waller-trained Hawkspur.
