After winning five of her 11 starts for trainers Stephen Autridge and Jamie Richards, Shillelagh has added just two more wins from 17 starts for Chris Waller, but no doubt the least concerned about that stat are the mare’s owners and breeders, Christopher and Susanna Grace.
For the seven-year-old daughter of Savabeel has amassed a small fortune, $1,050,246 to be exact, and can improve on that significantly when she lines up in Saturday’s $500,000 Group 1 Empire Rose Stakes (1600m) at Flemington.
The stars have not aligned for Shillelagh since winning the Group 1 Cantala Stakes (1600m) at Flemington 12 months ago when edging out everyone’s favourite whipping boy, Tom Melbourne.
But in the time that Waller has had her, Shillelagh has raced out of Group company just once and she has lined up in eight Group 1’s including her last two when fourth in both the Epsom Handicap and Randwick and the Toorak Handicap at Caulfield.
Unraced at two and making just one start at three, Shillelagh has been something of a late bloomer, which is not surprising as she is a sister to the Group II Brisbane Cup winner Tullamore who ran third in behind Southern Speed and Green Moon in the 2011 Group 1 Caulfield Cup and at his following start beat all bar the outstanding Americain in the Group II MVRC Drake International Cup.
Tullamore is the first foal and Shillelagh the fifth foal of the Flying Spur mare Trocair. 
Twelve months after foaling Shillelagh, Trocair produced her third stakes winner by Savabeel a filly named Grazia who was a $100,000 purchase for David Ellis at the 2014 New Zealand Bloodstock Premier Yearling Sale from the draft of Little Avondale Stud.
A week before Shillelagh’s career-defining win in the Cantala Stakes, Grazia opened her own stakes account in the Listed Spring Classic at Riccarton.
Trocair has been a regular visitor to Savabeel however in 2016 she foaled a colt by Ocean Park that has been catalogued for the NZB Ready to Run Sale of 2YOs on November 21 and 22.
From a strong stakes-winning family, particularly in Canada, Trocair is a half-sister to the Pins filly Nautique who won a pair of Grade III stakes races in the United States.
Trocair missed to Savabeel in 2016 but was covered by Waikato Stud’s champion again last spring.
(photos Grant Courtney)
