Following the win of the two-year-old colt Lunar Fox in the Group II VRC Produce Stakes at Flemington, Gerald Ryan’s speedball Villami capped a productive day for the Woodside Park Stud stallion Foxwedge when she led every step of the way in the Listed Fireball Stakes (1100m) at Randwick.
Villami wins her first stakes race - image Steve Hart
The fleet-footed filly flew the start for Tim Clark and there was no catching her. The favoured Deep Field colt Cosmic Force chased hard to close within one and a quarter lengths with the I Am Invincible filly California Zimbol another two and three-quarter length back in third.
It was a well-deserved maiden stakes win for the 3yo daughter of Foxwedge who had placed in the Group II ATC Furious Stakes, Group II ATC Percy Sykes Stakes, Group III MVRC Scarborough Stakes and Listed William Crockett Stakes.
"Eighty metres after the start, I was confident," Ryan told AAP.
"She jumped so well and when I saw how she was able to control the race, I was more confident."
Only three yearlings by Foxwedge have made more than the $425,000 shelled out by Gerald Ryan to secure Villami from the Cressfield draft at the 2018 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
She is the tenth foal of Galapagos Girl, a half-sister to the star broodmare Procrastinate.
A $150,000 Easter Yearling, Galapagos Girl was trained by Brian Mayfield-Smith to win four races including Group III races at Caulfield and Flemington after which she was purchased by Deborah Ho for $700,000 at the 2004 Inglis Easter Broodmare Sale.
A daughter of the excellent broodmare sire Dehere (USA), Galapagos Girl has eight to the track and all are winners.
They include a colt by Exceed And Excel that was purchased for $220,000 by the HKJC Mark Richards from the Cressfield draft at the 2011 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale before making a sales-topping HK$7.5million (A$1,060,000) at the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s International Sale at Sha Tin.
Named Longwah Amber he won four raced in the former colony.
Happily, the 21yo Galapagos Girl is still going strong and she foaled a Headwater filly late last year.
Her two-year-old daughter of Headwater named Aquagirl was a Flemington winner for Phillip Stokes on February 9 and she also has a yearling filly by All Too Hard.
Villami becomes the 17th stakes-winner for Foxwedge a foundation stallion at Newgate Farm before he was transferred to Woodside Park Stud last year where his service fee was $16,500.
