Trainer John McArdle has little to remember from the 2012 Debutant Stakes, but this Saturday, he will be hoping to make new memories with a filly from that race’s winning bloodline in the Blue Diamond Stakes.
McArdle missed the chance to see Villa Verde’s victory in the 2012 Debutant, but over a decade later, it’s her daughter, My Gladiola, that could bring McArdle his biggest career win.
My Gladiola has been a standout in the lead-up to the $2 million Group 1 event, having won the Group 3 Blue Diamond Preview (1000m) in style.
A daughter of I Am Invincible, My Gladiola is Villa Verde’s seventh foal. Villa Verde, bought for $95,000, was trained by Shaun Dwyer and went on to win multiple stakes races before being sold for $1.1 million.
My Gladiola, purchased for $575,000 at last year’s Inglis Easter Yearling Sale, is proving to be the most talented of Villa Verde’s progeny, according to McArdle.
“She’s the most forward of them all,” McArdle said. “She looks like her mother, a big, powerful filly.”
Villa Verde’s lineage traces back to the influential speed sire Rory’s Jester, and McArdle hopes My Gladiola can carry the legacy forward.
McArdle is confident the filly’s electric turn of foot will shine through in the Blue Diamond, where she’ll start from barrier 11 with Jamie Mott in the saddle.
“We’ll go back and look for a tow into the race. She’s got the turn of foot when ridden quietly,” McArdle said.