The outsider of the three debutants in the Big Event Picnic Tables Maiden Plate (1000m) at Mornington, the Nicconi filly Viola Vivace blew past her two rivals for an impressive debut.
Ridden by Blaike McDougall for Ben, Will, and JD Hayes, Viola Vivace dawdled along at the rear of the field after a scratchy start.
When McDougall asked for an effort, the response was immediate as the daughter of Nicconi put three and a quarter lengths over the odds-on favourite Souk (Street Boss) with a short-head back to Cyclone Coco (Toronado).
“She’s very professional, well prepared by the team at Lindsy Park,” McDougall said.
“There was no plan in the small field of 2yo first starters. She began a fraction awkwardly, and I let her find her feet early. She relaxed well off a genuine speed for a small field. When I pulled her out, she did the rest effortlessly.
“It’s hard to gauge the race's strength, but she is a little professional whose attitude will take her a long way.
Bred by Seymour Bloodstock, Viola Vivace was a $170,000 purchase for Inc Macys / Satomi Oka Bloodstock (FBAA) from the Newhaven Park draft at the 2023 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale.
She is the first foal of the All American mare Create Some Magic, whose best finish in eight stats was third in a Cranbourne maiden when on debut.
A half-sister to dual Group III winner and near $1million earner Irithea (Snitzel), from the family of the exceptional Japanese stars Cesario, Epiphaneia, Leontes, and Saturnalia, Create Some Magic has a Fierce Impact (JPN) colt in the Newhaven Park draft heading to the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale in March (Lot 185).
Viola Vivace is the first 2-year-old winner of the season for Widden Stud stalwart Nicconi. The sire of the incredible Nature Strip shows few signs of slowing down, covering 163 mares last year and was represented by his first Group 1 winner as a broodmare sire when Magic Time won the Group I MRC Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes.
