Australian racing fans got their first look at Via Sistina (IRE) when she won the $1million Group I ATC Ranvet Stakes (2000m) last year and the champion daughter of Fastnet Rock has taken all before her ever since.
Adding five more G1 wins to her resume in the 12 months since, the Chris Waller trained Yulong colour bearer was a short priced favourite to go back to back in the Ranvet and duly gave James McDonald an easy steer.
She ambled to the front with a furlong to run and powered clear to win by a length and a half over her stablemate Lindermann.
"Well, she lit up our lives, as I said, 12 months ago today. We didn't know what we had coming out of quarantine and obviously we had a good article and a good horse to work with and a very supporting team with Yulong,” said Chris Waller.
"So, back to the horse, like she is a star. She's a lovely, big, unassuming horse. But come race day, she really turns it on.
“We don't dare light her up in the mornings because what she's capable of, like she's a real powerhouse. Her track rider, Chris Harwood, said, oh, if we get her flying like one day she might just keep going as we saw. She's a gentle giant that graces the turf."
James McDonald has a great record on the mare and five of her G1 wins in Australia have been with him in the saddle.
“She's well up there that's for sure. She's definitely good. It takes a good one to beat the big boy (Lindermann), but she's well up there and she turns up each and every time which I'm so proud of her because if she was going to get beat it could have been easily a race like this,” he said.
"A little bit tricky but as we've seen she's getting more versatile. It felt like it was a mile race. She was really tanking up and hence the bead of sweat, so I've earned my money."
The current superstar performer in the stellar Yulong racing stable, Via Sistina is a fascinating horse as she is the original ugly duckling that grew into a swan.
Her original owners Stephen and Becky Hillen purchased her as a yearling for 5,000 guineas at the Tattersalls December Sale and they were over the moon when she sold at the Tattersalls December Mares Sale in 2023 fetching 2.7million guineas to the bid of Yulong be the second highest priced mare at the sale.
Via Sistina has the overall record of 12 wins and seven placings from 24 starts with prizemoney just shy of $10million and is the best of two winners from Nigh, an unraced half-sister by Galileo to dual Group I winning sprinter Kingsgate Native.
Her sire Fastnet Rock is now enjoying a well earned retirement at Coolmore Australia and his place on the roster has been taken by his promising young son Acrobat.
