Another Aussie Stakes-Winner for Lope de Vega

Tara Madgwick - Thursday July 17

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).

Don Diego de Vega (FR) is the latest Aussie SW for Lope de Vega - image Bradley Photography

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.

Advertisement

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.

Lope de Vega (IRE) shuttled to Australia at the start of his career.

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.

Advertisment

Race Result - Westlawn Finance Grafton Cup LR 2350m

Grafton Track: Good(4) Time: 2:28.59
1
Don Diego De Vega
- 5g Lope De Vega (IRE) x Fairly Fair (FR) (Sinndar (IRE))
Tnr: Annabel & Rob Archibald Rdr: Zac Lloyd 54
2
0.8
Quietness
- 5m Bated Breath (GB) x Quiet Queen (GB) (Sulamani (IRE))
Tnr: John O'Shea & Tom Charlton Rdr: A Adkins 55
3
1.7
Zoology
- 5g Zoustar (AUS) x Peach Melba (GB) (Dream Ahead (USA))
Tnr: P & W Hulbert Rdr: Rob Thorburn 54
Zoustar
4
2.3
Touristic
- 6g Frankel (GB) x Heuristique (IRE) (Shamardal (USA))
Tnr: Peter Snowden Rdr: Dylan Gibbons 58.5
5
3.8
Nikau Spur
- 8g Proisir (AUS) x Sarsarun (NZ) (Ustinov (AUS))
Tnr: Corey & Kylie Geran Rdr: Jag Guthmann-Chester 57.5
6
3.9
Bacio Del Mist
- 7m Reliable Man (GB) x Bacio Del Vinto (AUS) (Encosta De Lago (AUS))
Tnr: Lee & Cherie Curtis Rdr: A B Collett 54
7
5.6
Pure Deal
- 7g Dundeel (NZ) x Elegant Attire (AUS) (Flying Spur (AUS))
Tnr: B D Bellamy Rdr: Bella Youngberry 54
8
6
Dillian
- 6g Camelot (GB) x Debdebdeb (GB) (Teofilo (IRE))
Tnr: P & W Hulbert Rdr: Adin Thompson 54
9
6.1
Felix The Scat
- 4g Mendelssohn (USA) x Miss Pocket Rocket (AUS) (Smart Missile (AUS))
Tnr: T J Gollan Rdr: Kyle Wilson-Taylor 54
10
6.3
Tapildoodledo
- 5g Proisir (AUS) x Mrs Tappy (NZ) (One Cool Cat (USA))
Tnr: Kerry Taplin Rdr: B Looker 54
11
7.9
Belvedere Boys
- 5g Maurice (JPN) x Leveller (AUS) (Redoute's Choice (AUS))
Tnr: M J Dunn Rdr: B Shinn 59
12
15.3
Go Millo
- 7g Epaulette (AUS) x You Smarty Pants (USA) (Smarty Jones (USA))
Tnr: Indiana Turner Rdr: Ms W Costin 54
More Reading...
Tara Talks Racing – Stallion Parades, Old Legends and a Weekend Tip
We’re back in podcast land as the spring unfolds with plenty to talk about following our recent run of visits to the stallion parades, so what stallions did we like?
G1 Plan for Kiwi Sprinter Niance
Six-year-old mare Niance will kick off a new campaign when she lines up in the Gr.1 Moir Stakes (1000m) at The Valley on Saturday week.
Melbourne Cup Dreaming for Kiwi Stayer
Peter and Shaun McKay are dreaming of a Gr.1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) tilt with their quality stayer Wolfgang, and he will start his journey towards the iconic feature at Wanganui on Saturday.
Promising Winner and a Star on the Rise
One of the bargain priced sires on the Newgate Farm roster, Cosmic Force has never lacked for company covering 100 plus books of mares in each of his five seasons at stud so far totalling nearly 700 mares.
Sir Stanley Goosman’s Impact on the National Yearling Sale
Karaka 2026 will mark the 100th National Yearling Sale in New Zealand, and a prominent buyer during the history of the Sale was Stanley Goosman (later Sir Stanley).  He was a key player at the Sale during the World War II era, and headed the list of winning owners in New Zealand on 10 occasions.
Sires With Winners - Wednesday August 27
Here is the full list of 42 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Up and Coming Well Named - So Who Are These Guys?
The $250,000 Group III ATC Up and Coming Stakes (1300m) at Rosehill on Saturday is a race well named with a field of eight colts and geldings set to line up and while none are stakes-winners yet, one of them will be after the weekend.
Sires With Winners - Thursday August 28
Here is the full list of 33 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Spring Trial Watch – Everest Contenders on Show
The Rosehill trials on Thursday morning featured a couple of key Everest contenders with Private Harry winning easily over speedy 3YO North England, while Lady Shenandoah was under a tight grip to finish third in a later heat.
Sire Power Highlights Quality MM Horses in Training Catalogue
An incredible selection of the country's best proven and hottest young sires will feature at the 2025 Magic Millions Gold Coast Horses in Training Sale in October.