Freshman sire Nyquist is off the mark with a G1 winner in the very first juvenile G1 event of the year, as his two-year-old daughters Vequist and Lady Lilly ran first and third in the seven-furlong G1 Spinaway Stakes at Saratoga.
Vequist, making her second start after finishing runner-up by a neck on debut at Parx, broke a bit flat-footed under jockey Luis Saez but quickly hustled up to sit in second going into the turn. She hit the front at the top of the stretch and turned on the afterburners, pulling away to win easily by nine-and-a-half lengths for trainer Robert E. Reid, Jr. and owners Gary Barber, Wachtel Stable and Swilcan Stable LLC. The final time of 1:22.29 was .01 seconds off the seven-furlong stakes record.
Lady Lilly, a debut winner earlier in the meet at the Spa, ran well to finish third for Phoenix Thorougbhreds and trainer Steve Asmussen.
Bred in Kentucky by part-owner Swilcan Stables, Vequist is a daughter of the G2-placed Mineshaft mare Vero Amore.
Vequist is the fifth winner and second Black Type winner for Nyquist, whose other first-crop winners include Woodbine Stakes winner Gretzky the Great and Ellis Park maiden winners Dream Quist and Assertive Style.
