SUPER, scintillating, sensational . . . just some of the adjectives in praise of Australia's crack sprinter Schillaci's return to racing. Schillaci, one of the best sprinters we have seen in this country, resumed at Sandown with a courageous, if not decisive win in the A$460,000 (HK$2.3 million) Group 3 Rubiton Stakes (WFA 1000 metres). The big grey only just got home in a slugging finish but he stopped the clock for the 1000 metres in an Australian record 55 seconds. It is almost 12 months since Schillaci,having only his third start, equalled Rollick's long-standing Sandown 1000-metre record of 55.5 seconds. Schillaci will now go into the A$250,000 Group 1 William Reid Stakes (WFA 1200 metres) at Moonee Valley on February 1 a raging favourite, but from there trainer Lee Freedman is undecided which way to go with him. ''The way he's racing he might finally be looking for 1400 metres,'' Freedman said. ''Perhaps a race like the Futurity Stakes over 1400 metres at Caulfield will be better for him than the Lightning Stakes (at Flemington) over 1000 metres. They are both weight-for-age.'' LEADING Queensland trainer Bruce McLachlan trained the quinella in the A$1 million Magic Millions on the Gold Coast. McLachlan, however, is not the first to achieve the feat. Des Burns did it in 1988 (won by Sea Cabin) and Bart Cummings a year later (won by Malibu Magic). The filly Our Fiction, bought for A$10,000 at last year's Magic Million sales, beat stablemate, the colt Flying Tycoon by a long head. Our Fiction, by Zoffany - sire of last year's winner Clan O'Sullivan - is owned by Natalie Beattie who wasn't at the races because she is a Seventh Day Adventist and attends church on Saturdays. Her husband, Ian Beattie, who bought the filly when he raised his hand in one bid from the bar, accepted the first prize cheque of $A397,000. THE much vaunted Sale Of The Sanctuary yearling sale last week provided mixed results. While the magnificent makeshift complex was a major talking point, so too was the disappointing attitude of breeders in not meeting the market. The Sale Of The Sanctuary was held on the grounds of the Hyatt Regency in the luxurious sanctuary Cove resort on the Gold Coast. The sale, run by Dalgety Bloodstock International, specifically aimed at the Asian market. Unfortunately, the pass in rate of the 208 lost under the hammer was a high 40 per cent - and many of the yearl
