VEGA Magic won his first career Group 1 back in May, the Darley Goodwood, and at the weekend he added a second when he was a comprehensive winner of the Memsie Stakes over seven furlongs at Caulfield in Australia. This was victory number 12 in his 17-start career to date and he has amassed earnings of some €1.365 million. Five of his wins have been blacktype races and he has only been out of the first three twice.

Born in 2012 in the first southern hemisphere crop of his sire, Vega Magic is one of four Group 1 winners for the Ballylinch Stud stallion Lope De Vega. His first European crop, conceived at a fee of €15,000, included the European champion juvenile Belardo, winner of the Dewhurst Stakes. He subsequently added the Group 1 Lockinge Stakes and stood his first season this year at Kildangan Stud at €15,000.

That initial European crop for Lope De Vega also contained the 2017 Group 1 Al Quoz Sprint winner The Right Man, while the Group 1 Prix Saint-Alary winning filly Jemayel emerged from his second crop. At the weekend the first group winner from Lope De Vega’s fourth crop of racing age, the two-year-old Wertheimer-owned and bred filly Soustraction, won the mile Group 3 Prix d’Aumale to record her maiden victory and this highly regarded juvenile is her sire’s 16th group winner overall. This year Lope De Vega was full at a fee of €50,000.

Vega Magic has reignited a family that traces back well, but which has slumbered a little in recent generations. He is the third winner from three runners produced from the winning Magic Albert (Zeditave) mare Admirable. One of the others is Vega Magic’s full-sister Vega Dior and she has won this year from just a pair of starts.

Admirable is the sole winner for her two-year-old winning dam Starglow Express (Danewin) and she, in turn, is one of five winning offspring from the Century mare Starlight Express. Her full-sister was the champion juvenile filly and Group 1 Golden Slipper Stakes winner Century Miss, from whom a number of major stakes winners have descended, notably her grandson Shout From Maroof (Maroof) who won the Group 1 Hong Kong Sprint at Sha Tin.

Their sire Century was foaled in 1969 and was by Better Boy (My Babu). In his career he had 29 starts for 11 wins and a dozen places. His main wins were in the Moonee Valley Stakes in 1972 as well as the VRC Sires Produce, Ascot Vale Stakes and Freeway Stakes (now known as the Manikato Stakes). The following year he added the Craven A Plate, Newmarket Handicap and Lightning Handicap.

He was Australian champion sire in 1978 and sired successful stallions such as Rubiton, Stage Hit and Double Century.