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13th Group 1 winner for Ballylinch Stud’s Lope De Vega
The Tony Gollan-trained Vega One (5 g ex One Funny Honey by Distorted Humor) won Saturday's Kingsford-Smith Cup (Gr 1, 1300m) at Eagle Farm and in doing so provided his Ballylinch Stud-based sire, who formerly shuttled to Patinack Farm, Lope De Vega (Shamardal) with his 13th Group 1 winner.
Fourth last start in the Doomben 10,000 (Gr 1, 1200m), Vega One was ridden on Saturday for the first time by Jamie Kah. After finding trouble early in the straight, Vega One then exploding over the concluding stages to snatch victory and scored by a half length from his stablemate Jonker (Spirit Of Boom) while Signore Fox (Exceed And Excel) was a close third.
It was Kah's sixth Group 1 win, passing Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m)-winning jockey Michelle Payne for the most Group 1 victories by a female jockey.
Tony Gollan said that Vega One has required a lot of work to return to racing following an injury after his Stradbroke Handicap (Gr 1, 1400m) start last year, when he finished fourth.
"We've had a torrid time with him this preparation with a few little niggles. It's just amazing," he said.
"I was really happy with him after his work here on Tuesday morning, but we were on a knife's edge whether we were even going to be here this week, just little things, little miniscule things going wrong.
"This horse had a major injury last year after the Stradbroke and had a long time (off). They rehabbed him really well down there in Victoria, (he) came back and it's been a long-range mission to get here and then into the Stradbroke with him.
"It's just so rewarding today."
Vega One was away well from his outside barrier and was eased back to find cover toward the rear of the field during the opening stages of the race.
Kah was weaving her way through traffic as the field turned into the straight, but there was carnage playing out in front of the eventual winner.
"I didn't know where to look, I thought Jonker was going to hang on and I saw him behind a wall of horses and all of a sudden off he went. It's unreal," Gollan said.
"Jamie Kah doesn't obviously ride up here often but jeez, I hope she comes back here a bit more often.
"She's done a great job, there was no instructions, a bit like James on (Outback) Barbie, there's no instructions today, just do whatever you want to do on him, just ride him how he feels.
"They got it right with her in Victoria, that's for sure."
Vega One has now firmed from $13 into $9.00 for the Stradbroke Handicap next month.
Bought by John Thompson for $75,000 from the draft of Stockwell Thoroughbreds, as agent for Emirates Park, at the 2017 Magic Millions Adelaide Yearling Sale, Vega One has now won six times and placed another six times from 25 career starts.
He is one of four winners and two stakes winners, Group 2 winner One More Honey (Onemorenomore) the other, for his dam One Funny Honey (Distorted Humor) who was bought by Emirates Park for $50,000 at the Magic Millions Patinack Farm Complete Dispersal Sale in 2014.
His second dam is Group 3 winner Lan Kwai Fong (Blue Bird) who was also placed second in a VRC Oaks (Gr 1, 2500m) and went on to produce six winners.
One Funny Honey was covered by Capitalist (Written Tycoon) last November having foaled a colt by Fastnet Rock (Danehill).
Lope De Vega's Group 1 winners include Lucky Vega who will shuttle to Yulong in 2021 while another Group 1 winning son, Belardo, shuttles to Haunui Farm in New Zealand. The son of Shamardal (Giant's Causeway) has sired 81 stakes winners overall while in Australia and New Zealand, Lope De Vega has produced 16 stakes winners that include Group 1 winners Santa Ana Lane, Grytrash and Vega Magic.
