Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
Powering late, Within the Law surged past $600,000 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling purchase and race favourite Chisholm (I Am Invincible) to collect the $300,000 winner's cheque and give Yulong stallion Lucky Vega (Ire) his first stakes winner with his first Australian runner.
This victory serves as yet another testament to Darby Racing's remarkable track record of unearthing exceptional racehorses from the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale, a reputation cemented by their previous successes with standouts like Champion 2-Year-Old She Will Reign (Manhattan Rain) bought for $20,000, multiple Group 1 winner Yankee Rose (All American) purchased for $10,000, G1 Winx S. winner Samadoubt (Not a Single Doubt) bought for $40,000, as well as, previous Inglis Banner winner Setsuna (Choisir) who fetched just $50,000 at the sale.
A seasoned industry veteran, Darby explained that the key to success at the Classic sale is to simply “Buy the types you like and not have to pay through the roof’’ - a strategy exemplified by their latest acquisition and proven over a long period of time. This filly had clearly captured Darby's eye, with the syndicator praising her outstanding “type’’.
“Another Classic bargain buy. Gee I love that sale,’’ an elated Scott Darby said post-race.
“We bought her purely on type, which is why I love Classic so much, you can just head to Riverside and not worry about pedigree as much…”
“Another (Inglis) Classic bargain buy. Gee I love that sale. We bought her (Within The Law) purely on type, which is why I love Classic so much...” - Scott Darby
After a brief respite for Within The Law, Darby has his sights set on an ambitious campaign, with the rich Inglis Millennium and the G1 Golden Slipper on the radar; a feat he achieved with She Will Reign.
Within the Law is the first foal of multiple placed mare Contract Signed (Dundeel {NZ}) who was formerly trained by Joe Pride at Warwick Farm.
Contract Signed is the granddaughter of the multiple Group 2 winner So Gorgeous (Brief Truce {USA}) who won the VRC Ascot Vale S. (1200 metres), now known as the G1 Coolmore Stud S. and the G2 Edward Manifold S. (1600 metres).
Bjorn Baker and Scott Darby | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
However, Within the Law’s preciousness may be more so drawn from her sire, Yulong’s Lucky Vega, who has made an immediate splash with his first Australian runner being a stakes winner on debut.
Lucky Vega stands at the modest fee of $16,500 (inc GST). He himself was a Group 1 winner as a 2-year-old in the G1 Phoenix S. (1200 metres) and the early success of his progeny suggests that they have inherited that same precocious talent, with his first runner in New Zealand, Vega For Luck, also saluting on debut.
“It’s a great start for him,” Sam Fairgray, Chief Operating Officer of Yulong Stud said.
“As stud breeders we wait with anticipation to see how their progeny are going to go and for him to have three runners for two winners is just fantastic.
“As stud breeders we wait with anticipation to see how their progeny are going to go and for him (Lucky Vega) to have three runners for two winners is just fantastic.” - Sam Fairgray
“Darby have had great success, they are good judges and they buy nice horses. They bought Within The Law relatively cheap but the key is meeting the market and getting the progeny of Lucky Vega out there. It’s great that she has ended up in Bjorn Baker’s stable and I think he’s done a great job; 1. To get her to the races and 2. To get a 2-year-old to travel down from Warwick Farm to Flemington is a big thing for a young horse and then win so emphatically the way she did.”
Fairgray indicated that there were plenty of whispers going around that Lucky Vega may just hit the ground running. Yulong we're also buoyed by the fact that Lucky Vega’s sire, Lope De Vega (Ire), had already had so much success in Australia with the likes of Santa Ana Lane, Vega Magic and Gytrash.
Lucky Vega (Ire) | Standing at Yulong
“Lucky Vega was very precocious and physically, the types he was leaving they looked like they would be early,” Fairgray said.
“We have had a lot of feedback from breakers and trainers that they are horses with great brains and really willing attitudes. Something you learn, is when you hear that, it’s a very positive sign.”
“We have had a lot of feedback from breakers and trainers that they (Lucky Vegas) are horses with great brains and really willing attitudes. Something you learn, is when you hear that, it’s a very positive sign.” - Sam Fairgray
“He is a medium-sized horse but got a great shoulder and hind quarter on him and a lovely action. To look at him, he’s very much in the mould of what we’d expect of a precocious type here in Australia.
“His sire (Lope De Vega) has been very successful here, he’s had four or five Group 1 winners, so we knew the bloodlines already worked here so for us that was the exciting thing of him being a Group 1 winner at 2 and then being able to get him over here because his bloodlines obviously work with the broodmare lines that are in Australia.
“We have a few nice types coming through of our own scattered around, we’ve had some very nice feedback on them. A couple have just gone for a break and will be back late Summer to early Autumn to get into some of those nicer stakes races.”
Within The Law as a yearling | Image courtesy of Inglis
Purchased in 2021 on Inglis Digital for $30,000 by Chatsworth Farm, Within the Law’s dam Contract Signed has a yearling colt by Tagaloa and was covered by Yulong’s Written Tycoon last spring.
