Australian bred mare Porto Roca was on top of the world when her son Monterosso scored a three length victory in the G1 Dubai World Cup at Meydan on Saturday night.

Earlier in the day, there were more sedate celebrations when her Australian bred son Via Corone sired his first winner at Holbrook in NSW.

Via Corone (8h Zeditave – Porto Roca by Barathea) is three years older than the World Cup winner and injury curtailed his career after just one start for Flemington trainer Mat Ellerton.  He raced for Sheikh Mohammed and wasn’t seen again after winning his maiden on debut at Ballarat in 2006.

David Wallace stands Via Corone at Ringarah Stud in Albury and his first winner arrived when Fallon Street scored by a length in the Holbrook Maiden Hcp (1100m) on Saturday.  She is a homebred for trainer Brett Cavanough and is the penultimate foal of Miss Burley (Snippets) who died in October 2010.

Porto Roca was bred by Queenslanders Peter Moran and Ron Gilbert and she helped Danny O’Brien break into the big league with a Group 1 victory in the 2001 Coolmore Classic at Rosehill.  She also won a Winter Stakes at Eagle Farm when it was still a Group 3 event.

Porto Roca foaled the winners Seven Stars (King’s Best), Via Corone (Zeditave) and Elusive Port (Elusive Quality) before being exported to Europe in December 2005.

Monterosso (5h Dubawi – Porto Roca by Barathea) is her first northern hemisphere foal and he won the G2 King Edward VII Stakes at the 2010 Royal Ascot carnival.  Owner Sheikh Hamdan sent him to the Gulf last year to win the G2 Dubai City of Gold Stakes prior to a close third to Japanese raiders Victoire Pisa and Transcend in the World Cup.

Off the scene for nearly a year, he brushed aside a strong field in this year’s $10 million event that included So You Think.  Coolmore Stud’s short-priced favourite finished a well-beaten fourth.