Another Big Ellerslie Win for Volpe Veloce

Ellerslie has been an outstanding venue for Volpe Veloce (Foxwedge), and the Premier Sale purchase returned there on Saturday for another big win in the $100,000 Group 2 Westbury Classic (1400m).

Bought for $240,000 at Karaka in 2015, Volpe Veloce had won four of her five starts at Ellerslie before Saturday including the Group 1 Sistema Railway (1200m), Group 2 Eight Carat Classic (1600m) and the Listed Karaka 3YO Mile (1600m) – now the Karaka Million 3YO Classic.

The latter win came by a nose in a nail-biting photo finish, and it was a similar story in Saturday’s fillies and mares’ feature.

Ridden by Michael Coleman, Volpe Veloce sat back near the tail of the field and was angled to the outside at the 300-metre mark to make her run.

In the meantime, Sleeping Beauty (NZ) (Rip Van Winkle) had raced out to a commanding lead and looked extremely hard to catch. But Volpe Veloce steadily ate into that margin and grabbed her rival right on the finish line, scoring by a head.

“I didn’t have a lot of room there for a bit but when we got through, she really charged,” Coleman said. “Her class came through.

“Things didn’t go her way last time from a wide gate, and it was a huge run. She is all class and she deserved a good win.”

Volpe Veloce has now had 21 starts for 11 wins, two placings and $566,500 in prizemoney – more than double her purchase price.

“The draw was going to be a bit tricky with the way she has been missing away, but she bounced today and was in for the fight,” said Gavin Parker, who trains in partnership with Graham Richardson. “We’re always proud of her, she’s the best horse I’ve ever trained.”