Godolphin’s highly regarded 2-year-old Street Boss (USA) colt Valaquenta, a half-brother to stud dud Kementari, made a winning debut in Friday night’s Quest Moonee Valley Maiden Plate at Moonee Valley and is now likely to follow the path of last year’s winner Lankan Star who tackled the Blue Diamond Prelude before her second in the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stales at Caulfield.
It was anything but plain sailing for Valaquenta who was shuffled back through the field when Damian Lane was searching for some cover as the speedy Headwater filly Stormborn was highballing it out in front.
Lane found clear air before the home turn but Dwayne Dunn on the Bel Esprit gelding Spirit Of Giving was awake to the move and came out underneath Valaquenta and the two went to the line with the Street Boss colt prevailing by a short-neck with a head back to the Headwater filly Aquagirl in third and inching her sire closer to Pride Of Dubai as leading first-crop sire.
The Peter and Paul Snowden-trained Exceed And Excel filly Queen Ryker had little luck in the straight finished fourth.
Winning trainer James Cummings said Valaquenta would follow the traditional path to the Blue Diamond if he pulls up well.
“He’s got something about him this horse and we had a little glimpse of it this evening,” Cummings said.
“He’s very athletic and has got a lot of strength about him. What you love to see at their first start at Moonee Valley is to knuckle down and get up late.
“He’s got a big future with us and it would be great to see it sooner than later.
“We’ve got a couple of weeks to the (Blue Diamond) Prelude. We could take him along slowly there. He’s a strong brute of a colt, he’s going to handle that no problem but we’ll put him first and make sure he just settles right down over the weekend but he is a very exciting horse none the less regardless of where we go in the immediate future.”
A three-quarter brother to the Listed Lonhro Plate winner and Group 1 ATC Sires’ Produce Stakes runner-up Telperion (Street Cry) and half to the Group 1 ATC Randwick Guineas winner Kementari (Lonhro), who is back in training due to fertility problems, Valaquenta is the fifth foal of Godolphin’s prized matron Yavanna a Melbourne winning Redoute’s Choice mare who is a daughter of the dual Group III winner Wild Queen (Loup Sauvage) from the great Denise's Joy family.
Yavanna’s three-year-old Reset filly Palurien has won two of seven starts and at her most recent start back on November 16 finished second in the Listed Twilight Glow Stakes at Sandown.
Yavanna has a yearling filly by Lonhro and foaled another Lonhro filly on November 23.
Street Boss (USA) has three lots headed to the Inglis Classic and 13 catalogued for the Inglis Premier.
