Schillaci was a champion sprinter who lays claim to 6 Group 1 victories in a glittering career

A huge grey gelding, Schillaci was a $70,000 purchase at the 1990 yearling sales, and was named after Salvatore Schillaci, who was the leading goal scorer at the 1990 World Cup. In something of a fashion at the time, another grey gelding, Baggio, was named after one of Schillaci's teammates, Roberto Baggio, and was a consistent stakes performer in Brisbane. Schillaci was by Salieri (USA) out of Biscarina (Biscay-Forina).

The only sprinter who can claim an achievement over the champion mare Black Caviar is the former Lee Freedman-trained gelding Schillaci. While Black Caviar required eight races to secure her first Group 1 victory, Schillaci had already accumulated four Group 1 trophies at a comparable stage in his career. The son of Salieri demonstrated remarkable success in his initial four starts. He secured victory in the Lightning Stakes (1000m) and followed it up with another triumph in the 1100m Oakleigh Plate at Caulfield. Subsequently, he achieved further success by claiming victory in the Newmarket Handicap (1200m) in his sixth start. That made him only the second horse to win Australia's famed sprint treble, five years after Placid Ark first achieved it, and no horse has since been able to replicate it.

But that wasn't it for the big grey, who then progressed to Sydney where he was controversially beaten into second place on protest in the Group 2 Canterbury Stakes before bouncing back to claim what was then Sydney's premier autumn sprint, The Galaxy at Group 1 level, at his eighth outing. It was obvious that Freedman had a massive opinion of Schillaci when he opted to start him first-up in the Lightning. After debuting with a comfortable win over the speedy Mavournae, who would go on to win at Group 3 level, over 1100m at Kyneton in October 1991, Schillaci ran sixth in a 1400m Listed event at Flemington on Oaks Day before a devastating performance at Sandown. The three-year-old sizzled over the 1000m course in 55.5 seconds to set a new track record.

While that made the racing world sit up and take notice, it was a long way from Australia's premier speed test of the Lightning Stakes. But Schillaci proved he was up to it when he defeated Umatilla and Wrap Around in 55.9 seconds, a time that remained the second fastest Lightning ever until Black Caviar got within 0.03secs of Special's 24-year-old track record. He then backed up a week later, carrying 54.5kg, to defeat Dark Beau and Dapper's Hope in the 1100m Oakleigh Plate before carrying 55.5kg to victory over Storaia and Umatilla in the Newmarket.

Racing history might not have even eventuated had Schillaci's co-owner Alan Bell, who raced the grey with David Christensen, not planted the seed of a Lightning start in Freedman's mind. Once he won the Lightning it was just onwards and upwards from there. He won the Oakleigh Plate and a Newmarket start was just a natural progression. By then he'd established himself as the gun sprinter, even as a three year old, so it was just natural to go to the Newmarket and he kept winning after that.

Schillaci's stunning summer/autumn of 1992, when he was partnered by then rising star jockey Damien Oliver, produced the first four Group 1s in a career that finished with eight elite-level triumphs, every one of them coming in either February, March or April. Only a short half head defeat in the Group 1 William Reid Stakes denied him a run of six straight wins in early 1993, which included victories in the Lightning Stakes, Caulfield's Futurity Stakes (1400m) and George Ryder Stakes (1500m) at Rosehill. After almost two years in the Group 1 wilderness, he produced one last hurrah at the top level in the 1995 Futurity Stakes, which, like the Oakleigh Plate, is run at Caulfield.

The then six-year-old surprised many with his win over reigning Melbourne Cup winner Jeune and star stablemate Mahogany (fourth) that day, but Freedman never doubted him. Schillaci had five more runs after that Futurity success, but was retired after one of the runs of his career when half-length second to Rouslan (51.5kg) under 58kg in the Stradbroke Handicap on 10 June 1995. He retired a winner of 16 of his 36 starts and $2,319,128. Sadly, he battled degenerative hoof problems and cancerous tumours for a few years before having to be euthanized on 15 November 2001. He is buried at Anthony Freedman's property at St Ives, next to another great Freedman warrior, Mummify.


RACE RECORD - 36: 16-5-5
EARNINGS - A$2,319,128

Group One
Lightning Stakes (1992 & 1993)
Oakleigh Plate (1992)
Newmarket Handicap (1992)
The Galaxy (1992)
Futurity Stakes (1993 & 1995)
George Ryder Stakes (1993)
Group Two
QTC Cup (1992)
Moir Stakes (1992)
Stanley Wootton Stakes (1993)
Group Three
Rubiton Stakes (1993 & 1995)
Caulfield Sprint (1994)