Topanga moving on up in the world with Listed success at Baden Baden

Lot 138 Topanga in the ring at Tattersalls last monthCredit: Alisha Meeder

The Andrew Balding-trained Topanga led home a 1-3 for Siyouni in the Listed Wackenhut Fillies Cup at Baden-Baden on Saturday afternoon to become the latest blacktype winner for the Aga Khan's top-class sire.

Tackling stakes company for the first time since finishing fifth behind Folgaria in the Fred Darling at Newbury early in the season, Topanga showed she was a class above her rivals winning easily from Free Eagle four-year-old Atlantic City who got the better of Wild Approach in the tussle for third.

Jockey Adrie De Vries was in the saddle for the first time and believes that Topanga could progress into a Group filly for connections.

"It was a great performance, there was no pace in the race but she travelled well and the gap opened on the inside and she did it very quickly. She has a great turn of foot," he commented.

"She was impressive. She moved very well on the ground and quickened well. She can win a Group race here for sure and it is nice to have a winner for Mr Balding and his team."

Topanga, who was bred by Fittocks Stud and Andrew Stone, was making just the eighth start of her career and winning for the third time with all her victories coming over seven furlongs.

She comes from a typically deep Juddmonte family as a granddaughter of the Falmouth Stakes winner Time Piece. Topanga is the first foal out of Time Tunnel, a daughter of Invincible Spirit who was placed five times at three for Dermot Weld and sold for 260,000gns at the Tattersalls December Mares Sale to Blandford Bloodstock.

Her daughter was sold by Fittocks Stud to Blandford at Book 1 for 230,000gns and recently went through the ring at Park Paddocks once more where she made 135,000gns to McKeever Bloodstock.

The victory is a timely update for her Night Of Thunder yearling half-brother who is catalogued as Lot 474 in Book 2.

Time Tunnel has a two-year-old Lope De Vega colt named Time Allowed and has a Wootton Bassett colt at foot. Her three-year-old Siyouni half-sister Siyola was third in the Listed Haras de Bocquetot Fillies Trial at Newbury.

Their dam Timepiece won the Falmouth Stakes and is a Zamindar half-sister to Group 1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud winner and Prix Vermeille and Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf third Passage Of Time, who is the dam of Time Test.

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