First Stakes Win for Rip Van Winkle's Euro Angel

Dividing her time equally between Sydney and Melbourne, Euro Angel has looked a stakes-winner-in-waiting since making a winning career debut at Randwick on Australia Day.

Never off the board in six starts, the daughter of Rip Van Winkle (IRE) made her stakes debut in Wednesday's Group III Nick Johnstone Real Estate Ladies' Day Vase (1600m) at Caulfield and could hardly have been more impressive.

Racing three deep with cover under Dwayne Dunn, Euro Angel displayed an impressive turn of foot to defeated Rocket Commander by one and half lengths with Antelucan three-quarters of a length back in third. (photos Grant Courtney).

Bred by Windsor Park Stud, Euro Angel is the third yearling purchase by Team Hawkes out of the imported Polish Precedent mare Polish Princess (GB).

The first was the extremely talented Polish Knight (Encosta de Lago), a $420,000 buy that won the Group II ATC Tulloch Stakes and was runner-up in the Group 1 ATC Derby.

The second was the tough-as-teak Zabeel gelding Leebaz a four-time Group winning millionaire that came at a cost of $460,000 at the 2011 NZ Bloodstock Premier Yearling sale. 

Herself a $200,000 purchase at the 2014 NZ Bloodstock Premier Yearling sale, Euro Angel is the fifth foal Polish Princess who was purchased by Windsor Park for 75,000 guineas out of the Meon Valley draft at the 2004 Tattersalls October Yearling sale.

Her year older half-sister Suez (Green Desert) was purchased by John Ferguson, on behalf of Godolphin, for 480,000 gns at the same sale 12 months previously. 

Suez would go on to win a maiden at Goodwood and a Listed race at Salisbury before finishing second to Magical Romance in the Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes in a 3-start career.

The daughter of Green Desert did not take long to prove her worth at stud by producing the top-class Street Cry filly Lyric of Life who won her first three starts including the Group 1 Shadwell Fillies Mile at Newmarket and the Group II May Hill Stakes at Doncaster.

Polish Princess (GB) did her racing in New Zealand where she was a Listed stakes-winner in a career of four wins and six placings from 11 starts and she placed in the Group 1 ARC Champions Mile.

A granddaughter of Meon Valley Stud's Broodmare Of The Year, Reprocolor, Polish Princess missed to O'Reilly in 2012 before making a trip to Australia to visit Coolmore Stud's High Chaparral (IRE) in 2014.

She produced a colt by the ill-fated son of Sadler's Wells in 2014 before foaling another colt last spring, this time by Group 1 VRC Newmarket Handicap winner Shamexpress before being bred back to Savabeel.