Sir Slick

Sir Slick is a bay gelding Thoroughbred racehorse by Volksraad from the Paris Opera mare Miss Opera. The New Zealand bred Sir Slick was the winner of Six Group One races in New Zealand and he also raced in Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Racing career

Bred by Monovale Holdings Limited, Sir Slick was a NZ$48,000 purchase from Mapperley Stud at the 2003 Select Colts Karaka Yearling Sale by Graeme Nicholson.
Sir Slick was also known as the War Horse or the Iron Horse and he became one of the country's most popular racehorses of his time due to his success and ability to withstand long racing campaigns.
His major victories included the:

2007 Awapuni Gold Cup from All Square and Arabian Nights.
2008 Awapuni Gold Cup from Chettak and Butch James.
2010 Awapuni Gold Cup from Manonamission and Red Ruler.
2007 International Stakes from Sharvasti and Kingsinga.
2008 New Zealand Stakes from Ombre Rose and Dezigna.
2007 Otaki-Maori Weight for Age from Jokers Wild and Shinzig.
2007 Thorndon Mile from Pins 'N' Needles and Bonjour.
2009 Thorndon Mile from Striker and Cuminate.
2007 Zabeel Classic from Xcellent and Dezigna.

As well as winning the Awapuni Gold Cup three times, Sir Slick was also second to MacO'Reilly in 2009.
While not winning outside of New Zealand, he ran third in the 2009 Doomben Cup in Australia and ran fifth in the Singapore International Cup. His most recognised achievement involves being awarded the title of New Zealand's Champion Middle Distance Racehorse of the year 2006/07. In that season he was also voted as the Most Popular Horse of the season, and he was runner-up in the overall Horse of the Year voting.
Sir Slick made an appearance in a substantial 151 races, racing in nine seasons between the ages of 2 and 10. Of the 151 races, including his overseas starts, he saw the winners circle 22 times and has earned over NZ$2 million in prize money internationally.
He was retired after finishing last in the 2012 Awapuni Gold Cup.

Pedigree

The dam of Sir Slick, Miss Opera, was the winner of 6 races including the Listed Castletown Stakes.
His younger half-brother Puccini won the 2013 Great Northern Guineas, Group 1 2014 New Zealand Derby, Avondale Guineas, Waikato Guineas and 2015 Thorndon Mile and Thompson Handicap. In 2017 Puccini commenced stud duties at Mapperley Stud.