Viva De Vega: Beckett strikes in Listed contest to cap memorable year for owners

Next year is set to be an exciting one for trainer Ralph Beckett and owners Waverley Racing after Feliciana De Vega made it two wins from two when thumping her rivals by upwards of four and a half lengths in the Listed Prix des Sablonnets at Deauville on Sunday.

Unperturbed by having to stay an extra night after the meeting was postponed on Saturday due to poor weather and safety concerns, Feliciana De Vega looked a class apart as she stretched clear under Christophe Soumillon.

Beckett said: “It wasn't ideal having to stay the extra night but she’s a pretty straightforward filly. It was just what we’d hoped for.

“I'd thought after her debut we’d go for another novice, but she was doing so well we thought we’d wait and go for this instead. She looks like she learned as she was green early but lengthened very well in the straight.”

The winter will be spent making plans for Feliciana De Vega, a general 33-1 shot for the Qipco 1,000 Guineas and Investec Oaks, and Beckett added: “The one thing I'd say is she's always likely to prefer a bit of juice in the ground, albeit she’s a good-moving filly.

“We’ll most likely start at a mile next year but she should stay and get ten furlongs well, so it’ll be a question of factoring those two things into plans. We’ll have a look in the spring and see what we think but she’ll have to go up in grade.”

Waverley Racing have had other success stories in 2018 with the likes of Antonia De VegaCredit: Mark Cranham

Feliciana De Vega’s success caps a remarkable season for Waverley Racing. All four of their horses, all fillies by Lope De Vega trained by Beckett, have won, with Antonia De Vega landing the Group 3 Prestige Stakes and Manuela De Vega the Listed Silver Tankard.

The Hugo Palmer-trained Ours Puissant followed Feliciana De Vega home, while in the other Listed race third-placed Hathal did best of five runners from Britain and Ireland for Jamie Osborne, who had expressed his frustrations the day before that jockeys felt conditions were unsafe.

He tweeted on Sunday: "All credit to the track for not abandoning completely under unusual circumstances."

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