Schillaci (horse)
Encyclopedia
Schillaci was an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...

 racehorse who was an eight-time Group One
Group One
Group One or Group 1 is the term used for the highest level of Thoroughbred and Standardbred stakes races in many countries. Group One races may be run under handicap conditions in Australia but in Europe weight-for-age conditions always apply. Races may be also restricted to age groups or a...

 winner. He was by Salieri (USA) out of Biscarina (Biscay-Forina). A huge grey gelding, Schillaci was a $70,000 purchase at the 1990 yearling sales, and was named after Salvatore Schillaci
Salvatore Schillaci
Salvatore Schillaci , commonly referred to by his nickname Totò is a former Italian football player. During his career, he played for Messina , Juventus , Internazionale and Júbilo Iwata...

, who was the leading goal scorer at the 1990 World Cup
1990 FIFA World Cup
The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event twice. Teams representing 116 national football associations from all six populated...

. In something of a fashion at the time, another grey gelding, Baggio, was named after one of Schillaci's teammates, Roberto Baggio
Roberto Baggio
Roberto Baggio is a retired Italian footballer. Widely regarded as one of the finest footballers of his generation, Baggio won both the Ballon d'Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year in 1993. He is the only Italian player ever to score in three World Cups. He is also one of the top 5 all-time...

, and was a consistent stakes performer
Group races
Group races are the highest standard of Thoroughbred horseraces in Australia. The Australian Pattern Committee recommends to the Australian Racing Board which races shall be designated as Group races...

 in Brisbane. Schillaci was unraced at two, and made his debut in a Kyneton
Kyneton, Victoria
Kyneton is a town on the Calder Highway in the Macedon Ranges of Victoria, Australia. The Calder Freeway bypasses Kyneton to the north and east. The town was named after the English village of Kineton, Warwickshire. The town has three main streets: Mollison Street, Piper Street and High Street...

 maiden on 22 October 1991, where he defeated Mavournae, who, like Schillaci, would go on to win the Rubiton Stakes. Schillaci was spelled after two more starts, which produced a win in fast time at Sandown in late-November. In the new year, Schillaci was catapulted straight into Group One company, and won the Lightning Stakes
Lightning Stakes
The Lightning Stakes is a Group 1 Australian thoroughbred horse race at Weight for Age, run over a distance of 1000 metres at Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne in February. Prizemoney is A$750,000...

, the Oakleigh Plate
Oakleigh Plate
The Oakleigh Plate is a Group 1 Australian thoroughbred open handicap horse race, run over a distance of 1100 metres at Caulfield Racecourse, Melbourne in February. Its prizemoney in 2010 was A$351,000...

, and the Newmarket Handicap
Newmarket Handicap
The Newmarket Handicap is a VRC Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Australia. The event is an open handicap race over 1200 metres...

 in successive starts. In winning these races, the grey had become a triple-Group One winner after just six starts, and only the second horse, after Placid Ark
Placid Ark
Placid Ark was an Australian thoroughbred foaled in Western Australia. His sire Arkenstone was a winning son of the Western Australian champion sire Zvornik and his dam was Northern Queen a mare bred in South Australia by the USA imported stallion Star of the North.Bred at Asprey Stud near...

 in 1987, to complete the treble. Schillaci was then taken to Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

, where he was beaten on protest by Alishan in the Canterbury Stakes
Canterbury Stakes
The Canterbury Stakes is a Group 2 Australian Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged three years old and upwards at weight for age, over a distance of 1300 metres. It is held annually at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse in Sydney.-Race History:...

, and won his fourth Group One race, The Galaxy
The Galaxy (horse race)
The Galaxy is an Australian Jockey Club Group One Thoroughbred open handicap horse race, run over a distance of 1100 metres at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, Australia in April...

. In Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...

, he added the QTC Cup, and carried the big weight of 56.5 kilograms when unplaced behind Rough Habit
Rough Habit
Rough Habit was a New Zealand-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who won 11 Group One races on both sides of the Tasman, and won New Zealand's Horse of the Year Award in 1992 and 1995....

 in the Stradbroke Handicap
Stradbroke Handicap
The Stradbroke Handicap is a Group 1 Australian Thoroughbred open handicap horse race, run on the first Saturday in June, over a distance of 1,400 metres at Eagle Farm Racecourse, Brisbane...

. At four, Schillaci won a further six races, including Group One wins in the Lightning, the Futurity
Futurity Stakes (Australia)
The Futurity Stakes is a Group 1 Australian weight-for-age Thoroughbred horse race held at Caulfield Racecourse in Melbourne. For most of its history it was a 1400 metre race but since 2006 it has become the first leg of the Asian Mile Challenge series, and its distance has changed to 1600 metres...

, and the George Ryder Stakes
George Ryder Stakes
The George Ryder Stakes is a Group 1 Australian Thoroughbred horse race at Weight for age run over a distance of 1,500 metres at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse, Sydney in April...

. He failed to win in five starts at five, but won three more races at six. According to trainer Lee Freedman, Schillaci was 'never quite right' as an older horse, but made a winning comeback in the Caulfield Sprint, on Cup day, and won his final Group One race in the autumn's Futurity Stakes. After his final start - a second in the Stradbroke Handicap - Schillaci was retired to a property near Seymour
Seymour, Victoria
Seymour is a township in the Shire of Mitchell in the state of Victoria, Australia and is located north of Melbourne. At the 2006 census, Seymour had a population of 6,063...

.

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