Australia: Via Sistina ties Winx’s Group 1 record in Queen Elizabeth

SYDNEY – The legendary race mare Winx has company in the record books of Australia racing.

Winx won seven Group 1 races in the 2018-2019 season in the final year of her illustrious career, which included a staggering 37 wins in 43 starts.

On Friday at Royal Randwick Racecourse, Via Sistina equaled Winx’s single-season record of Group 1 wins with her seventh victory at the highest level since August in the $3.08 million Queen Elizabeth Stakes at 1 1/4 miles.

Via Sistina is certain to be named Australia’s Horse of the Year for the current season.

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Winx won the Queen Elizabeth Stakes from 2017-2019, the last of which was her career finale. Winx was Australia’s Horse of the Year in four consecutive seasons from 2015-2016 to 2018-2019.

On Friday, Via Sistina, who was sent off favored and paid $3.30 in American pools, overcame a touch of traffic in early stretch to win by 1 3/4 lengths over 6-1 Dubai Honour, a British shipper who won the 2023 Queen Elizabeth.

Ridden by James McDonald, Via Sistina raced toward the back of a field of 13 approaching the stretch, positioned behind the Japanese shipper Geoglyph. When Geoglyph failed to sustain a rally, McDonald regrouped quickly, finding space between rivals. Via Sistina pulled clear in the final 100 yards.

“There was one little worrying moment,” McDonald said. “I thought the one I was following was going to kick for a gap and he just didn't go for it.

“She was superior. Once I got those gaps, she sliced through and went bang.”

Tom Kitten (12-1) finished third in a field of 13. Rousham Park, who was second in the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Del Mar last November, finished sixth, beaten 4 3/4 lengths in his 2025 debut.

Via Sistina, a 7-year-old Irish-bred mare, has won 7 of 9 starts since the current season began in August. The Queen Elizabeth Stakes was her third consecutive Group 1 win since the first of March.

Trained by Chris Waller for Yulong Investments, Via Sistina was purchased for approximately $3.5 million in Britain in December 2023. She has won 8 of 11 starts in Australia, and 13 of 24 career starts.

The Queen Elizabeth Stakes, Australia’s leading weight-for-age race in the first half of the year, was the eighth Group 1 victory of Via Sistina’s career. The first was the Pretty Polly Stakes at the Curragh in Ireland in 2023.

Via Sistina’s win was one of the highlights on a 10-race all-stakes program at Randwick, and the third of four consecutive Group 1 races.

The powerful Waller-McDonald team won the day’s final Group 1 race with Fangirl in the $615,400 Queen of the Turf Stakes for fillies and mares at a mile. Fangirl, who paid $3.40 in American pools, had a trip similar to Via Sistina’s in that McDonald was forced to weave past rivals through the stretch.

Fangirl finished slightly less than a length in front of 3-1 Stefi Magnetica, who was back on the track seven days after winning the Group 1 Doncaster Stakes at a mile at Randwick.

In day’s first Group 1 race, Treasurethe Moment, the dazzling Southern Hemisphere 3-year-old filly, caught 48-1 Sun ‘N’ Sand in the final strides to win her eighth consecutive start in the $615,400 Australian Oaks at 1 1/2 miles.

It was only in the last 50 yards before Treasurethe Moment reached the front, winning by slightly more than a neck over Sun ‘N’ Sand. Treasurethe Moment, who was ridden by Damian Lane for trainer Matt Laurie, paid $2.80 in American pools.

“She got me out of a sticky spot at the top of the stretch,” Lane said. “She ended up knuckling down when it counted. The special ones find a way.

“She just found the line.”

Arapaho, an 8-year-old French-bred gelding, provided the upset of the day in the Group 1 races with a late rally in the $1.22 million Sydney Cup at two miles. Ridden by Rachel King for trainer Bjorn Baker, Arapaho ($24.40 in American pools) finished nearly three lengths in front of 47-1 Waltham in a field of 20.

Alalcance, the 3-1 favorite, set the pace to early stretch before fading to finish 17th.

The Sydney Cup was Arapaho’s first win in a Group 1 since the Tancred Stakes at 1 1/2 miles in March 2023.

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