Chris Waller declared Via Sistina a “very, very special horse” after she defied any late-carnival curse with another dominant victory in the Nov. 9 Champions Stakes (G1) at Flemington Racecourse.
After the Yulong mare’s astonishing Cox Plate (G1) triumph—slashing almost two seconds off Winx ‘s record time and matching her historic eight-length margin—the question was how could she possibly follow that?
Not only that, but Champions Day, or Stakes Day in the old, has often been a graveyard for fancied runners, with it being tacked on to the end of campaigns which had already contained their major spring targets.
But, sent out a prohibitive $1.60 favorite, the 7-year-old laid any doubts to rest in another awe-inspiring win—albeit not in the Cox Plate realm—ranging up from near the back of the 11-horse field at the turn and coming away easily to score by 2 3/4 lengths under James McDonald.
On this occasion her time on a Good 4 track was not quite as stunning as on a Good 3 at Moonee Valley, the 2:01.86 well outside the track record of Makybe Diva’s 1:58.73. But in scoring her fourth group 1 of the spring, and her sixth overall, Via Sistina showed again she might just be the most astute of the hundreds of purchases brought to Zhang Yuesheng’s Yulong in its explosion to life in recent years.
“It was very special. Winning the Cox Plate the way she did, I think caught everyone by surprise,” Waller told Channel 9.
“And then the pressure to back her up and go one more run—we spoke about sport analogies and having another game after a grand final and we were thinking about it constantly. But she’s a very, very special horse, obviously.”
Sold as a yearling by Jamie Railton to Stephen Hillen Bloodstock at the Tattersalls December Yearling Sale in 2019 for 5,000 guineas (US$6,751), and bought as a group 1-winning racemare to compete under the Yulong banner for 2.7 million guineas (US$3,581,316) at the 2023 Tattersalls December Mares Sale four years later, Via Sistina has now more than recouped that purchase price, with her earnings Saturday breaching AU$8.5 million.
Sunshine In Paris Takes Champions Sprint
Renowned breeder John Camilleri had plenty of reasons to be beaming when Sunshine In Paris earned him a top-tier dividend on his sizeable investment when she pulled a breathtaking win out of the bag in Saturday’s Champions Sprint (G1) at Flemington.
Ridden by who else but James McDonald, the Annabel Neasham and Rob Archibald-trained mare was in dire trouble when sixth behind runners with 200 meters left to travel. But steered towards a narrow inside gap, she sliced through late on to edge out $31 longshot Right To Party and score by a head.
The Everest (G1) winner Bella Nipotina, who led at the 100 meters in a bold bid to slay her Flemington hoodoo on the quick back-up from her Winners Stakes victory, was third, a half-length off the winner, meaning she has had 11 starts at headquarters without a victory.
Sunshine In Paris provided Winx’s breeder Camilleri with the boost to her stud value he was craving, having paid out a handsome amount to bring the 5-year-old under his Fairway Thoroughbreds banner last year.
Sunshine In Paris and jockey James McDonald after winning the Champions Sprint at Flemington Racecourse
Late off the mark, Sunshine In Paris was first offered for sale at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale of 2022—two months before turning 3—by Blue Sky Premium Consignment.
Bought by Champagne Bloodstock for AU$90,000, she soon richly rewarded her new connections, winning three of her first five starts culminating in a victory in Randwick’s Surround Stakes (G1) in February 2023.
Her owners decided on a quick cash-out, and they didn’t miss. Taken to the same broodmare sale where she’d started, Sunshine In Paris was acquired by Camilleri, via agent James Harron, for AU$3.9 million from Newgate’s draft, making her the second-top lot of the auction.
Now with a pair of group 1s to sit alongside her two group 2s, Sunshine In Paris’s value as a sprinting broodmare is assured, and immense.
Remarkably, Sunshine In Paris remains the sole stakes winner for her sire Invader, who has 75 winners from 139 runners worldwide.
Mr Brightside Rebounds in Champions Mile
Dropping back in distance and racing in blinkers for the first time brought about a reversal in fortunes for Mr Brightside as the 7-year-old powered through a gap late to take out Saturday’s Champions Mile (G1) at Flemington.
Partnered as usual by Craig Williams, the Team Hayes-trained gelding bounced back from his fourth-placed finish in the Cox Plate to beat the Tony Gollan-trained Antino by a half-length. Fangirl, trained by Chris Waller, finished the same margin away in third.
“He’s never run a bad race for us. He’s an absolute gentleman. I’m just so proud and so happy for Craig and everyone involved. I’m fully shaking,” co-trainer Ben Hayes, who trains in partnership with his brothers Will and JD, told Racing.com after Mr Brightside sent his prize money earnings soaring past the AU$16 million mark with an eighth win at the highest level on what was his 40th start.
“He’s just been so consistent this preparation. Today he just landed in a good spot, he flew the gates. And I’m shaking. He’s such a special horse to us.
“I was hoping he could get that gap, and he got it, and he was so strong through the line. Super effort. Well done to all at Lindsay Park, all the owners.”
Williams, who has been on board for all bar four of Mr Brightside’s 40 starts, added: “The grand final was the Cox Plate. He ran fourth but ran a phenomenal race.
“They’ve come here today for the Champions Mile, with all these horses, they’ve gone for blinkers for the first time and he was the right product today.”
Mr Brightside (black cap, blinkers) wins the Champions Mile at Flemington Racecourse
Mr Brightside was passed in at the 2019 New Zealand Bloodstock Ready To Run Sale, while Antino made NZ$27,000 at the same sale a year later. This year’s edition of the 2-year-old auction begins it’s two-day run Nov. 20.
Savaglee Gets First Group 1 Win
A dream spring for Savaglee, his trainer Pam Gerard, and jockey Sam Spratt culminated in something very special in the New Zealand Two Thousand Guineas (G1) at Riccarton Nov. 9.
Savaglee began his 3-year-old season somewhat below the radar, albeit with two wins to his name from seven starts last season including the Matamata Slipper (G3). But the Savabeel colt has blossomed before our eyes this spring and become a standout of his generation, winning four of his five starts including the Hawke’s Bay Guineas (G2), Sarten Memorial (G2) and Saturday’s NZ$650,000 classic.
He has been expertly guided through his breakthrough campaign by trainer Pam Gerard, who has made a triumphant start to her tenure as solo trainer at Ballymore Stables in Matamata. Having previously trained in partnership with Mike Moroney for just under a decade, Gerard went out on her own in August when the Melbourne-based Moroney relinquished his New Zealand license. Gerard has rapidly racked up 14 winners this season, headlined by Savaglee’s black-type treble.
The other piece of the Savaglee puzzle is Spratt, who is riding in the form of her life. She arrived at Riccarton Saturday with 30 wins to her name and a three-win premiership lead over Craig Grylls. Spratt proceeded to add another four wins to that tally over the course of the afternoon, including a clean sweep of the black-type features.
Off as the favorite, Spratt initially settled Savaglee in third behind So Naive and When Stars Align. Second favorite Love Poem slid up alongside him and kept him firmly in her sights, threatening to force him into a pocket along the rail.
But Spratt was having none of that, driving Savaglee through a narrow gap between So Naive and When Stars Align just before the home turn.
Savaglee stuck his head in front at the top of the straight and quickly took command, drawing away from his outclassed opponents and winning by 2 3/4 lengths. Love Poem crossed the line in a distant second, with longshot Domain Ace running into third.
Savaglee’s Guineas win came in a sizzling time of 1:33.86—the third-fastest recorded in the race.
Savaglee, who was a NZ$400,000 yearling purchase at Karaka from the draft of breeders Waikato Stud, has now had 12 starts for six wins, two placings and NZ$744,975 in stakes.
