Via Sistina signed off a dominant 12 months in Australia by collecting a remarkable seventh group 1 of the season, and eighth overall, in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes (G1), equaling the elite-level record won in a single term held by another great mare, Winx, who was also expertly handled by Chris Waller.
The Fastnet Rock mare’s win provided her owners Yulong with a fine group 1 double on the day at Randwick Racecourse, with her triumph coming hot off the heels of Treasurethe Moment‘s gritty victory in the Australian Oaks (G1) two races earlier.
An emotional Chris Waller was on track at Randwick to break down the win.
“She just keeps turning up every week, I’d like to have a few more like her,” Waller said.
“And we have, we’ve got a great team, but she just shows the difference between a good horse and a champion.”
Under regular rider James McDonald, 7-year-old Via Sistina looked in a spot of bother as the field entered the straight, but once she found daylight, the mare burst clear to defeat the William Haggas-trained Dubai Honour , who won the 2023 edition of the group 1, by 1 3/4 lengths, bringing an end to his unbeaten Australian record.
Tom Kitten ran another valiant race to finish third, another three-quarters of a length back.
“It was an economical run, we had the right man aboard,” Waller, who was surrounded by his family, said.
“James (McDonald) has continued to mature and not panic, that’s the key to winning these big races. The big jockeys win them all the time, to have one of them on your horse’s back is a big plus for your team.
“She’s a big big horse and she’s quite scary really, we don’t ask her too much at home, we just hold it together and know that it’s there race day.”
Via Sistina was bred in Ireland but by United Kingdom interests, from the quintessentially English-sounding Laundry Cottage Stud. While advertising as a small, family-run affair away from the Newmarket hub in North Hertfordshire, it can also lay claim to breeding outstanding racehorse and now exciting sire Wootton Bassett .
The yearling Via Sistina was sold by agent Jamie Railton to Stephen Hillen Bloodstock for just 5,000 guineas from Book 3 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale in 2019.
From those inauspicious beginnings, she was bought by Yulong associate Evergreen Equine at the Tattersalls December Mares Sale last year for 2.7 million guineas from the draft of Ireland’s Grove Stud.
Fangirl Lands Queen of the Turf
In the next race on the card, Waller was in the winner’s circle again following the exploits of yet another of his talented mares, with Fangirl duly claiming her fourth victory at the highest level when she took out the Queen Of The Turf Stakes (G1).
Fangirl wins the Queen Of The Turf Stakes at Randwick Racecourse
After Via Sistina equaled the great Winx’s record of group 1s in a season, Waller equaled one of his own benchmarks with Fangirl handing him an 18th elite-level victory, matching the record he set in 2018-19.
The daughter of Sebring got her preparation off to the best start when defeating her stablemates Lindermann and Via Sistina in the Apollo Stakes (G2). Via Sistina then turned the tables in the Verry Elleegant Stakes (G1), where Fangirl was far from disgraced in second, finishing a half-length behind the great mare and she occupied that same placing in the George Ryder Stakes (G1), finding only Gringotts too strong on that occasion.
Sporting the famous cerise silks of her breeders, the Ingham family, and ridden by James McDonald, Fangirl had no Via Sistina to contend with and back against her own sex, she produced her customary turn of foot inside the final 400 meters to beat last-start Doncaster Mile (G1) winner Stefi Magnetica by three-quarters of a length.
The winner’s stable companion Atishu put in another fine display ahead of her sale at next month’s Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale, finishing a nose lengths away in third.
In claiming his second group 1 of the day after Via Sistina’s win in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes, Waller moved his overall group 1-winning tally to 179.
Fangirl held an entry for the Queen Elizabeth Stakes, but Waller said he resisted pitting her against Via Sistina given how well she was going in the lead up to the group 1.
“There’s so many great stories with any winner on the racetrack, but the group 1s on big days like today, it really is special. So I don’t know where to start,” he said.
“Obviously, today means so much. We’ve got to have horses winning, and the big races especially.
“We would have liked to have had a crack at the Queen Elizabeth, but Via Sistina was flying, and I didn’t want to break her heart.”
Treasurethe Moment Completes Oaks Double
The Matt Laurie-trained Treasurethe Moment reinforced her reputation as the best filly in Australia Saturday when she landed her second classic in the Australian Oaks at Randwick. In winning the group 1, the 3-year-old became the first filly in 19 years to seal the Australian Oaks/VRC Oaks (G1) double.
In addition, the daughter of Alabama Express stretched her unbeaten run to eight and delivered her third win at the highest level, having also landed the Vinery Stud Stakes (G1) on her first start in Sydney. On Saturday however, the filly was pushed to her limits for the first time since she kicked off her picket fence form.
After a sedate early pace and lack of cover throughout, Treasurethe Moment looked in trouble at the 300-meter mark and still had ground to make up on Sun ‘N’ Sand and You Wahng, a pair of double-figure roughies, in the straight.
With star New Zealand Oaks (G1) winner Leica Lucy for company, Treasurethe Moment kept finding under Damian Lane, but was running out of time. But as it usually does, class prevailed, with Laurie’s filly finding her stride and gaining the lead with 50 meters left to travel, eventually crossing the line a half-length ahead of Sun ‘N’ Sand, with You Wahng a further half-length adrift in third.
“I was pretty nervous about today,” Laurie said. “I mean, small field and, you know, often they can be a bit kind of messy. It was sort of slow to watch. She didn’t have a great deal of cover at times, and was on the wrong lead. Then they all came off the turn. She was under siege.
“We haven’t seen that for a while and to see her dig deep in the concluding stages, just an incredible effort and I couldn’t be prouder of the horse and the team to help get it to this point.”
Arapaho Delivers in Sydney Cup
Arapaho continued the excellent spell of trainer Bjorn Baker with a blistering display to win the Sydney Cup (G1) at Randwick.
Already a group 1 winner courtesy of a neck success in the 2023 Tancred Stakes (G1), the French-bred son of Lope de Vega was making it a sixth stakes success and his ninth win overall from 35 starts to date. The 8-year-old pulled clear three lengths clear of Waltham, with River of Stars another half-length back in third.
Arapaho wins the Sydney Cup at Randwick Racecourse
The winning trainer said: “We get a bit emotional about this horse at the stables, we love him.”
Baker was joining his now-retired father Murray on the Sydney Cup-winning trainers’ honor roll, with Murray having struck in the event with My Eagle Eye in 1992.
“We gave him a bit of Murray Baker treatment on Thursday and he relaxed beautifully today. That entails just doing a solid piece of ground work, and he’s a sound horse. We know he’s got acceleration, and that’s where having a father that won everything but the Melbourne Cup comes into it,” he added. “It was a great ride by Rachel King. She just held him up, held him up, and he exploded, which he can do.”
Arapaho was a second group 1 winner in a matter of hours for his Ballylinch Stud-based sire after Carl Spackler ‘s impressive victory in the Maker’s Mark Mile Stakes (G1T) at Keeneland April 11. The 5-year-old had landed the Coolmore Turf Mile Stakes (G1T) last October and the Fourstardave Handicap (G1T) in August. At Newbury later on in the day, Lope de Vega added a 146th individual stakes winner to his CV courtesy of Jonquil’s victory in the Greenham Stakes (G3).
