Rip Van Winkle mare Euro Angel continued a strong week for Karaka graduates when she won the G3 Ladies’ Day Vase at Caulfield on Wednesday.
Following on from the Karaka Ready to Run Sale quinella of Debt Collector (Thorn Park) and Well Done (Falkirk) in last Sunday’s Kranji Mile in Singapore, Premier Sale graduate Euro Angel stepped up for her first attempt at stakes level.
The four-year-old outsprinted her rivals in the last 300 metres to score by a length and a half and add considerable value to her pedigree.Euro Angel has now had six starts for three wins, three placings and $199,435 in stakes.
She is trained by Michael, Wayne and John Hawkes, who purchased her for $200,000 from the draft of Windsor Park Stud at the 2014 Premier Sale at Karaka.Euro Angel was bred by Windsor Park, who also bred both the Singapore quinella pair Debt Collector and [Well Done.
Euro Angel is out of the Polish Precedent mare Polish Princess, who won four races including a Listed win and was G1 placed in the Easter Handicap.Polish Princess is now the dam of three stakes winners with Euro Angel joining multiple stakes winner and G1 placegetter Leebaz (Zabeel) and the G2 winner and Australian Derby runner-up Polish Knight (Encosta De Lago), both trained by the Hawkes family.
Euro Angel's success capped a tremendous run for her sire Rip Van Winkle (Galileo) as he also sired Wednesday’s impressive Sydney winner Nassak for Randwick trainer James Cummings.Rip Van Winkle has sired three new stakes winners this week including 4YO gelding Bravo Zolo who was successful at Chantilly in Paris in the Listed Prix Du Ranelagh.
• WINDSOR Park Stud has announced that Clerihew, the dam of last Saturday's G1 Toorak Handicap winner He's Our Rokkii, is to return this season to Invincible Spirit's multiple G1 winning son Charm Spirit.The decision was made by the owners of Clerihew after the European-bred mare foaled a colt by Charm Spirit at Wentwood Grange in Cambridge last Sunday, a day after He's Our Rokkii's G1 success in Melbourne.
By champion German colt Lomitas, Clerihew is a daughter of the Irish Group winning racemare Clerio, herself a granddaughter of Horse Of The Year and champion NZ mare La Mer, whose 24 wins included the G1 NZ Oaks.Purchased by Paul Moroney Bloodstock at the 2005 Tattersalls December Mares Sales for owners John Collinson and Costa Feneridas, Clerihew's first foal is the seven-times winning racemare Aluminium Bikerack. Her second foal to race is He's Our Rokkii.
Charm Spirit, the highest earning son of champion sire Invincible Spirit, won six races as a two and three including his last three starts in G1 company in the Chantilly Prix Jean Prat, Prix du Moulin de Longchamp and Ascot Queen Elizabeth II Stakes.Charm Spirit served a full book of mares at Windsor Park Stud in his first season last year.
He shuttles to NZ from the Aga Khan's Haras De Bonneval stud in France.