It’s just as well Australian owners are keen on bringing in imported tried horses to Australia or the $200,000 Listed Grafton Cup (2350m) on Thursday would have looked a very skinny event, but as it happened there was a promising young stayer on top in Don Diego de Vega (Fr).
Trained by Annabel and Rob Archibald and ridden by Zac Lloyd, the progressive five year-old started favourite after finishing just out of the placings in his past three starts in Listed staying features.
With that solid grounding under his belt and a great ride from Zac Lloyd, he prevailed over the wayward runner-up Quietness (GB) to win by three-quarters of a length with his prospects enhanced at the gate with the late scratching of the original race favourite Bear on the Loose (IRE).
Fresh back from a European holiday, Zac Lloyd was pleased to get the win although revealed a change in plan had to be made.
"My plan sort of changed in the barriers when Bear On The Loose got scratched as one of the speed runners in the race," Lloyd said.
"Going to the gates he was full of energy so I was confident he was going to begin well and once he did that it made my job pretty easy.
"Got the perfect run behind Quietness and obviously it rolled off the fence and my bloke shot through.
"I probably should have changed my whip when he ran out but he was in front and it didn't matter."
Don Diego de Vega runs in the Australian Bloodstock colours and was sourced privately from Europe after five runs on major French tracks at two and three that produced two wins and a stakes placing behind Champion 3YO Ace Impact.
Don Diego de Vega now has the overall record of four wins and three placings from 13 starts and is the 148th stakes-winner for versatile sire Lope de Vega, who has a great record in Australia.
He has given us imported staying G1 winners like Arapaho (Fr) and Duke de Sessa (IRE) as well as locally bred G1 sprinters Santa Ana Lane, Gytrash and Vega Magic from his initial years at stud here shuttling to the old Patinack Farm.
Polarising figure Nathan Tinkler might have done a lot of things wrong in his time as a big player in the Australian bloodstock industry, but bringing Lope de Vega here was not one of them.
Don Diego de Vega is the best of three winners from stakes-winning Sinndar mare Fairly Fair, a sibling to Group winners Fairly Ransom and Graphite.
