Xigera and Heavenly Sunday battled through the stretch with Xigera prevailing by a neck at the wire to win the Tepin Stakes at Ellis Park on Saturday, 1 July.
The Tepin marked the first Stakes victory for the three-year-old daughter of Nyquist, who has never finished worse than third in six career starts.
Given a heady ride from jockey Julien Leparoux, Xigera sat just behind leader Heavenly Sunday through the early stages of the one-mile turf contest. Entering the far turn, Leparoux swung Xigera three-wide for a clear shot at the leader, then moved up to challenge for the lead at the top of the lane. The two fillies battled the length of the stretch with Xigera prevailing at the finish to notch her first Stakes win.
Bred in Kentucky by Cedar Hill LLC, Xigera is out of Argent Affair, a Stakes-winning daughter of Black Tie Affair. In addition to Xigera, Argent Affair has produced Graded Stakes winner Forty Under (by Uncle Mo) and Graded Stakes-placed Myriskyaffair (by Verrazano).
Nyquist is having another phenomenal year stud, with his Stakes winners headlined by Crimson Advocate, recent winner of the G2 Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot. Nyquist is also represented this year by multiple Stakes winners Johannes and Flying Connection, and Stakes winners Hacking It Up and New York Thunder.
