We saw that scenario in the Group II ATC Furious Stakes two weeks ago when unheralded Street Cry (IRE) filly Winx blitzed Group I winners Earthquake and Peggy Jean.
The Chris Waller trained Winx is now unbeaten with three wins in as many starts
and will test her mettle again this Saturday against the same fillies in the
Group II ATC Tea Rose Stakes over 1400 metres.Winx was a $230,000 Magic Millions purchase from the Coolmore draft for Peter Tighe's Magic Bloodstock and was selected on the advice of Chris Waller and his yearling selection team headed by Guy Mulcaster.
Winx is yet another good horse bred by John Camilleri's Fairway Thoroughbreds who have produced Group I winners such as Dariana, Gathering and Invest as well as stakes-winners Florentina, Girl Gone Rocking, One Last Dance, Pago Rock, Trusting, Grand Jardin and a Time for Julia, who was retained and will run this Saturday at Caulfield.
Fairway Thoroughbreds enjoyed a long and fruitful association with Coolmore, but when Peter O'Brien departed Coolmore last year to take on the role as General Manager for Kevin Maloney's Segenhoe Thoroughbreds the Fairway Thoroughbreds bloodstock portfolio went with him.
Among the mares that moved to Segenhoe is the dam of Winx.
A stakes-winner in New Zealand by Al Akbar, 12 year-old Vegas Showgirl was bought for $455,000 at the 2008 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale by Colm Santry Bloodstock for Fairway Thoroughbreds.
While that seems like top dollar to pay for a Listed winner with what many would see as an unfashionable pedigree, subsequent results would indicate Vegas Showgirl has been worth the money.
"She is absolutely stunning," revealed Peter O'Brien.
"She's probably the best looking mare I've ever seen and that was why we bought her."
After slipping to Encosta de Lago in her first season at stud, her first three
foals have all been sold as yearlings fetching a combined total of $600,000 and
with Winx now a Group II winner the future is looking very rosy for Vegas
Showgirl who has a yearling colt by Snitzel that will be retained."Winx was always a glorious looking filly with a superb action," recalled O'Brien.
"John (Camilleri) would have liked to have kept her, but we bred her using a foal share to Street Cry, so she was always going through the sale ring.
"If she had made $200,000 or less we would have bought her back, but she ended up making over that so we let her go."
Vegas Showgirl is due to foal again to Snitzel on a mid-December cover and is booked to visit Coolmore newcomer Declaration of War (USA).
