Brother to Nigelissima at Karaka 2014

Maiden filly Nigelissima (NZ) (Pentire) prevailed in a surprise victory in the Listed $50,000 Jesters Pies Championship Stakes Prelude (2100m) at Ellerslie on Sunday, adding to the pedigree of her full-brother catalogued in 2014 Karaka Select Sale.

Nigelissima (NZ) winning the Listed Jesters Pies Championship Stakes Prelude on Sunday.

Rich Hill Stud will offer a colt by Pentire out of Posing Zero (Danzero) at the upcoming Select Sale, with the full-brother to Nigelissima catalogued at Lot 727.

Trained by father and daughter combination of Jeff McVean & Emma-Lee Browne, Nigelissima was a late entry for the Listed feature on Sunday when the field was left open due to low initial nominations.

The daughter of Pentire had three starts before Sunday for two placings, including an unlucky second last start when held up for much of the straight at Te Aroha when ridden by Alysha Collet.

Collet was once again aboard the filly on Sunday and the pair dropped to the tail of the field soon after jumping from the outside barrier in the 10-horse field. Collet rode a patient race on Nigelissima, cutting the corner to the home straight and finding a gap that the pair burst through and ran to the lead to defeat hot favourite Show the World (NZ) (High Chaparral) by three-quarters-of-a-length.

“She is going to be a lovely stayer in time,” commented Emma-Lee Browne. “She will hopefully race on over the Christmas/New Year period with a look to the Group 1 Derby or the Group 1 Oaks in the long term.

“It has always been on her agenda to step up over ground. She has always given the impression she will get over ground and her breeding suggests so as well.

“She is a lovely type, she has really developed in the last year and that is why she hasn’t kicked off until a bit later. She has taken a little bit of time but she is a lovely filly.”

The first win in the career of Nigelissima, along with her previous three starts, has earned her owners, J Wong & Maggie Kerrigan Trust, $32,100 in prizemoney.

Bred by Alan Galbraith, the daughter of Pentire is the first foal to race out of the unraced mare Posing Zero (Danzero), a daughter of Listed winner Posing (Truly Vain) and a half-sister to multiple stakes winner Zanna (Pentire).