By Starcraft from stakes-winner Dashing Granada, the Mark Kavanagh trained Celebrity Girl was a stakes-winner last spring at Flemington and was having her first run back from a spell after finishing midfield in the Group I MRC Thousand Guineas.
Partnered by Michael Rodd, Celebrity Girl was caught deep for the whole journey
from her outside gate, but found the line strongly to win the 1100 metre dash
by a long neck, her overall record now three wins and a placing from six starts
with prizemoney of $184,138.A half-sister to stakes-placed Albaicin, Celebrity Girl (pictured as a yearling) is the most expensive yearling ever sired by Starcraft and the sixth foal and first stakes-winner for Dashing Granada, who finished fourth in both the Group I MRC Thousand Guineas and VRC Oaks in 2000.
By brilliant sprinter Keltrice, Dashing Granada is a sister to Group III winner Northeast Sheila and half-sister to stakes-winner Kablammo.
She started her stud career with Arrowfield Stud, but was on-sold in 2008 for $200,000 when in foal to Starcraft and carrying Celebrity Girl.
Yarraman Park sold a yearling filly from Dashing Granada, by Rock of Gibraltar (IRE) at Inglis Easter last year for $140,000 to Bruce Elkington and the mare's next yearling is a filly by Lonhro.
Not surprisingly, Dashing Granada has a colt foal by Celebrity Girl's sire Starcraft and was covered again by him last spring.
Other Yarraman Park graduates to taste success on Saturday were brilliant sprinter Facile Tigre, who finished third in the Group I MRC Oakleigh Plate and classy filly Soft Sand, who ran a gallant second to Shopaholic in the Group II MRC Angus Armanasco Stakes.
