Cameletta Vega upholds family honour with impressive debut

Cameletta Vega was an poignant winner of the final race on the penultimate day of the Galway Festival.

Trained by Willie Mullins, the five-year-old is a daughter of dual Derby hero Camelot out of the brilliant racemare Quevega, making her a half-sister to multiple Grade One-winning stablemate Facile Vega, who was fatally injured earlier this week.

Quevega famously landed the Mares’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival on six occasions, while Facile Vega followed in her hoofprints by winning the 2022 Champion Bumper in the Cotswolds.

With the champion trainer’s son Patrick doing the steering, Cameletta Vega was an 8-11 shot for the Salthill Hotel Irish EBF Mares INH Flat Race, which had gone to the all-conquering Closutton team five times in the last eight years.

Favourite backers will have had few concerns, with Cameletta Vega travelling strongly at the head of affairs from flag-fall – and she had most of her rivals in trouble before the home turn.

Once given the office, she soon quickened clear of the field, with her rider punching the air as he passed the post with three and three-quarter lengths in hand over The Diddler.

Quevega has now produced four foals that have made the racecourse – Princess Vega, Facile Vega, Aurora Vega and Cameletta Vega – and all have won on their respective debuts.

Patrick Mullins said: “She was a little bit worked up, but very professional once the race started. The plan wasn’t particularly to make the running, but nobody wanted to make it and I said we’d bowl along.

“We got to set our own fractions and kick off the bend. With her pedigree she was entitled to win.”

He added: “It’s a bright start and particularly this week, with Facile Vega passing away. Facile gave us some wonderful days, for me personally we had wins in Leopardstown at Christmas, at the Dublin Racing Festival, in Cheltenham and in Punchestown.

“The day in Cheltenham will live long in the memory for me. It was the wettest day I’ve ever seen in Cheltenham, he was Quevega’s son and probably one of the bankers of the meeting. We got the head-to-head with Jamie (Codd) and American Mike and we won and a few of my friends snuck into the winner’s enclosure – it was a very enjoyable day.

“It’s frustrating and sad to lose a horse like him, but the owners have this mare coming through and Aurora Vega is back in (training) on Monday and there’s a four-year-old by Australia in the yard who is not named yet, but she’s nice as well.

“I didn’t get to ride Quevega, it was a bit before I was at that level, but it’s great to have that connection with them and it just shows those good racemares can be good broodmares. It’s very special.”

Willie Mullins said: “It was nice to see her do that and it was the best bit of work she has ever done. She was backward last year but has come forward nicely and Quevega’s progeny seem to take time.

“She is very strong but wouldn’t be anything like the size of Facile Vega and to me she is maturing all the time. She quickened nicely and is obviously better than she is showing me at home.

“We’ll aim for the Listed bumper in Gowran in October.”

Of Facile Vega, he added: “He had just returned in from grass, so was fresh, and it was a freak accident as he kicked a wall in the stable.

“I was speaking to Nicky Henderson and he said the same thing happened to Shishkin. It was unfortunate but it was just one of those things that can happen.”