Trainer Ciaron Maher declared Fireball Miss (Bivouac) a filly of the future after the Easter Yearling Sale graduate proved her class beyond doubt with a dominant victory in today’s G1 Queensland Oaks at Eagle Farm bringing a massive pedigree update for her weanling half-sister by Australian Horse of the Year Anamoe.
Well ridden by Declan Bates, the Bennett Racing colour-bearer was posted three-wide for much of the race, after jumping from gate 13.
Bates later admitted he was concerned Fireball Miss didn’t settle as well as he would have liked for her first rise to 2200m, but that ultimately mattered little in the run home.
Presented some eight horses wide on the home turn, the 3YO strode home powerfully in the straight to score by 1.3 lengths.
Winning the race at just her seventh start, having made her debut on February 4th of this year, Fireball Miss becomes the 122nd individual G1-winning Inglis graduate since 2018 and the third in the past week, following wins last Saturday for Providence and Headley Grange.
The victory completed a remarkable result for Fireball Miss’s Gold Coast based hobby breeder Simon Delzoppo and the filly’s dam Femme Fireball.
That 12YO mare has had only two runners to date - both bred by Delzoppo - and both are G1 winners, with Fireball Miss following big sister and fellow Inglis Easter graduate Femminile, winner of last year’s South Australian Derby.
Fireball Miss was offered in the draft of Vinery Stud, through which Delzoppo conducts most of his business, at the Easter sale of 2024, being bought by Bennett Racing for $140,000.
“It’s amazing. Double amazing now,” said Delzoppo, an IT entrepreneur who has just five mares.
“It’s an incredible feeling to be in this position, to be speaking about two G1 winners I’ve bred. I never thought I’d be doing that, especially to have also retained 50 per cent of the first one, Femminile.
“Femme Fireball is a fantastic mare to be able to produce those two G1 winners. It’s a pretty rare thing, and just to be a small breeder who’s produced two G1 winners is amazing, and potentially there’s more to come with a few more of her foals coming through.
“It’s going to be an interesting few years ahead.
“She (Fireball Miss) probably didn’t stand out so much, since she had a bit of growing out to do, but she was quite an athletic horse who looked like she was going to be a good runner,” added Delzoppo, who breeds under his Aralet Pty Ltd, named for daughters Arabella and Scarlet.
“She looked like she would take a bit of time to mature and come through, which she seems to have done.
“She still achieved pretty good money. Inglis do a great job, with their facilities and presentation, and you’ve got a very good chance of getting good money for your horse there.
“And Vinery did a great job with her too. The success of horses off Vinery Stud speaks for itself. They’re producing a lot of winners.”
Fireball Miss’s victory came with perfect timing for Three Bridges Thoroughbreds, who bought Femme Fireball from Delzoppo last year, in-foal to Anamoe, and will offer the resultant filly at the upcoming Inglis Great Southern Weanling Sale.
The Anamoe filly will be offered as Lot 406 on Friday afternoon among Three Bridges’ 12 weanlings to go under the hammer, with Liston understandably holding high hopes for a strong result.
“Life’s about timing isn’t it?” said Three Bridges’ Toby Liston.
“She’s athletic, big and strong - a typical Anamoe.
“The mare’s been to two different sires and produced two G1 winners, so let’s hope her Anamoe can be the third.
“Great Southern has always been a great place to sell horses. They’re good people at Inglis, and it’s great to do business there.
“There’s a great appetite for nice horses, and we take nice horses, raised in 100-acre paddocks, so it should be a fun week.”
To view the catalogue for the Inglis Great Southern Sale, click here.
