Greytown deal pays off decades later

The magnificent Rising Fast, winner of two Caulfield Cups and a Melbourne Cup in the mid 1950s. FILE PHOTO

A decision made many years ago by two Greytown racing stalwarts has blossomed decades later with the emergence of a brilliant young mare Winx, winner of this year's $3 million Cox Plate at Moonee Valley in Melbourne.

Frank Robertson and Trevor Thomson agreed to mate Robertson's 23-year-old unraced mare Gay Abandon with Thomson's stallion Stunning and to go 50:50 in the foal.

Robertson owned Platform Farm and had bred the magnificent Rising Fast, winner of two Caulfield Cups and a Melbourne Cup in the mid 1950s, and Thomson was stud master at Highway Lodge Stud.

That discussion in 1969 resulted in the two men becoming partners in Vegas, a filly they sold at the Trentham yearling sales for the tidy sum in those days of $8000, the sale only being made after one of the two men had opted to keep the filly and the other had voted to sell, thereby dissolving the partnership.

As it happened the buyer was Sir Woolf Fisher of Ra Ora Stud and Vegas had a short but brilliant career on the racetrack, winning three times at six furlongs, before her career was cut short by injury.

She went to stud and left a filly by Sovereign Edition named Vegas Street who, in turn, was mated with Voodoo Magic to produce winning sprinter Vegas Magic, whose progeny were to set the bloodline on to a successful track that ultimately led to last month's Cox Plate winner.

This came about when Vegas Magic left a filly by Al Akbar, to be named Vegas Showgirl, who went on to win seven sprint races including the listed Soliloquy Stakes; the Avondale 2YO fillies' Stakes and the Galaxy Stakes at Trentham.

Vegas Showgirl - the dam of Winx " also clinched several placings in top races including a fourth in the Group 1 Manawatu Sires Produce Stakes.

She was trained by Stephen Autridge.

Winx is her only runner to date, being sired by the Irish shuttle stallion Street Cry but word has it in Australia that another young galloper left by her is soon to hit the track.

Former New Zealand trainer Chris Waller, who is now one of Australia's most successful trainers, has gone on record to declare his enormous respect for the four-year-old stable star.

Winx has really hit her straps this season after winning performances earlier in her career.

She won the Theo Marks Stakes at Rosehill in sensational fashion after looking to be hopelessly placed with 400m to run.

Pundits were astonished to see the mare wind up from near the tail of the 14-horse field to blitz her rivals and grab the win.

She then went on to win the Epsom Handicap in similar fashion despite suffering from interference and in the Cox proved a point for the female of the species being the only mare in the classy field.

She blitzed her rivals once finding the front and Australian racegoers are talking of her in the same breath as the mighty mare Sunline.