Dam of Winx has Deep Impact foal to continue champion mare's dynasty

Vegas Showgirl, the dam of the recently retired mare Winx, has given birth to a filly by Japan’s late champion sire Deep Impact at Segenhoe Stud in the Hunter Valley.

Peter O’Brien, who manages Segenhoe Stud, described the filly as Vegas Showgirl’s 'best foal ever’ and that the result had rewarded her owners’ willingness to embark on an international breeding programme with their band of high-class mares.

“She has thrown leggy types and Winx herself was a very leggy foal but she has lovely quality with very good limbs and really what you would expect,” O’Brien told ANZ Bloodstock News.

“I was speaking to Harry Sweeney from Japan - and Vegas Showgirl stayed with him when she went up there - and he was telling me that the bigger, leggier and scopey Deep Impacts are the better ones, so I hope he is right.”

The late Deep Impact, who had a huge influence on the breed in Japan and beyondCredit: Shadai Stallion Station

The eighth foal and fifth filly out of the dual Listed winner and Group 1-placed Vegas Showgirl, the foal was born at 10.54am on Tuesday.

“I was just talking to John [Camilleri] a few minutes ago and I said that I have never seen a mare foal like her,” said O'Brien.

“The whole process from breaking water to passing the placenta takes about 15 minutes.

“She is just a foaling machine and her foal was just straight on her feet like Winx was. She is bouncing around the yard this evening and everything was just completely textbook.”

Trading under the Fairway Thoroughbreds banner, Camilleri owns an unraced three-year-old filly named Courchevel out of Vegas Showgirl who is trained by Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, while he has also chosen to retain her two-year-old Exceed And Excel daughter named Covent Garden.

She is currently in training with Chris Waller at Rosehill.

As for the Deep Impact filly seeing an auction ring, O’Brien was blunt, saying: “I would say the odds of this one going to a sales ring are a billion to one.

“In fairness to John, he had the vision to take Vegas Showgirl to Japan to go to Deep Impact and she was 17 years of age when she went up.

“The key is that John sends a lot of mares internationally and, for example, to Kingman this year.“He has got three who went to Deep Impact and it is all about the long-term breeding programme with these outcross mares, so when we get fillies it is like winning the lotto.”

Vegas Showgirl will be covered by Yarraman Park’s I Am Invincible this year, as will Winx in her maiden season at stud.

Underlining the Camilleris’ determination to access the best global bloodlines, they also have the dual Group 3 winner A Time For Julia due to foal to Deep Impact, possibly overnight.

He also has mares due to be covered by Juddmonte’s exciting stallion Kingman, such as the Group 3 winner Florentina, who last year had a filly by Dubawi, and Pattini, who is a half-sister to Golden Slipper Stakes winner Vancouver.

Group 2 winner Empress Rock, who is the dam of the promising Fairway Thoroughbreds-owned and Brad Widdup-trained three-year-old filly Darling Point, was also sent to the UK in July to be mated with Kingman.

O'Brien said: “John does everything right. All the mares are quality mares and he breeds them to quality stallions.

“There is a hell of a lot of thought that goes into the matings and he is willing to take risks as far as travelling mares goes, so everything will pay off in the long term.”

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