A stakes-winner last season at three, talented Grunt mare Miraval Rose started the New Year on a winning note taking out the Listed VRC Kensington Stakes (1400m) at Flemington on Wednesday.
Trained by Grahame Begg and ridden by Craig Williams, Miraval Rose was placed at her first two runs back from a spell and was cherry ripe for this assignment.
She chimed in at the 300m mark and was strong to the line winning by half a length to take her overall record to three wins and four placings from 10 starts with prizemoney just shy of $340,000.
A half-sister to the Group II winner and Group I ATC Queen of the Turf Stakes runner-up Gypsy Diamond, Miraval Rose was a $250,000 Magic Millions purchase for Rohan Hughes/Graeme Begg Racing from the Yulong Stud draft.
Bred and sold by Yulong, she is the second stakes-winner among five winners from Zabeel mare Gypsy Tucker, who is also the grand-dam of Group I placed Café Millenium.
Yulong purchased Gypsy Tucker, in foal to Snitzel, for $800,000 at the Inglis Chairman’s Sale in 2018, then signed the ticket for $1.3 million for her daughter Gypsy Diamond, so they have quite an investment in this family.
Neither had a foal in 2024 with Gypsy Tucker covered by Alabama Express and Gypsy Diamond by Lucky Vega (IRE).
