Replique winning the Listed Southland Guineas 21-2-16.
Photo courtesy of Wild Range Photography
Winning the Listed Southland Guineas with Replique (Darci Brahma-Mystique) was the perfect end to a holiday for Inglewood Stud proprietor Nick Wigley.
According to Gus Wigley, the now manager of Inglewood Stud, his father had been holidaying in the south during the week leading into the Guineas, and he had been the surrogate trainer.
"It was a great way for Dad to end his holiday, and the icing on the cake was that she is the first stakes winner he has trained after having around 13 stakes placings.
"He doesn't train that many and we always have lots of fillies, like Mystique Replique's mother, and he has tended to probably race them at the highest level to get black type, but all in all it was quite exciting," he said.
"It's the first stakes winner the farm has produced since Bianca and I became involved with the stud in 2012. "
Replique who is raced by Inglewood Stud and Bruce Wigley, had one start last autumn as a two-year-old and then commenced her three-year-old season at the end of December and broke maiden ranks three starts later. She followed that win with a fast finishing second to Derby hopeful Son of Maher in the 1400 metre Listed Dunedin Guineas, and once stepped up to 1600 in Southland Guineas relished the extra ground and ran on to win by three-quarters of a length.
A daughter of Darci Brahma she is the first foal of the Montjeu(IRE) mare Mystique, herself a winner of four races who was placed in the Listed Warstep Stakes and CJC Metropolitan Trophy. She is a full-sister to Mystify who won three and was also placed in the Listed Warstep Stakes, CJC Metropolitan as well the Dunedin Guineas, and Canterbury Stakes.
They are both out of the mighty stakes winning Beaufort Sea mare Seamist, who was raced by Bing and Sandy Wigley, parents of Nick and grandparents to Gus. Seamist won 12 races and was the South Island Filly of the year, with her wins in the Gore, and Dunedin Guineas and placing in the Group One 1000 Guineas.
As an older horse she won the Group One New Zealand Stakes at Ellerslie, the Group Two Japan- New Zealand International Trophy, the Group Three Awapuni Gold Cup, and the Highview Stakes. She was also placed at Group One level in the Easter Handicap, Thorndon Mile and Captain Cook Stakes.
As a broodmare she also produced Torlesse (by Volksraad[GB]) to win 12 races including the New Zealand Cup and Group Three CJC Gold Cup at Riccarton as well as a Group Three Spring Classic and Dunedin Gold Cup. Her first foal Truthful by Trustful (AUS), won eight races and was stakes placed, another daughter Mountain Mist (Kaapstad) won a race and left a stakes placed winner in Catalina, and Spray an unraced daughter by Entrepreneur(GB) has left the stakes placed winners Corsage (Volksraad [IRE]) and Miss Thorn (Thorn Park[AUS]).
"I took a gamble this year with Mystique as she leaves such lovely types, and sent her to the Caulfield Guineas winner Shooting to Win (Northern Meteor[AUS]). It's more than I usually spend on a stud fee, but if you want to get in the top sales you have to breed to the better stallions. Dad always says it costs as much to prepare a $200,000 colt as it does a $20,000 colt," said Wigley.
Mystique has a Zacinto(GB) filly foal at foot, and has also produced an older brother by the same stallion who stands at Inglewood Stud.
"Dad reckons it's the best looking foal on the farm for years, she really is lovely. Dummy Myers bought the older Zacinto (GB), and the Iffraaj(IRE) filly was in the sale this year, but she got spooked after the neighbours let off fireworks at New Year and went through a couple of fences and stripped her leg, but now in hindsight I am quite happy to have her in the paddock".
"That is similar to what happened to Replique, she injured herself as a weanling. I went out one morning and found her back leg in tatters stripped right back to the cannon bone. We patched her up and put honey on it every day, and hoped that she would come right. She was originally meant for the sales until that happened."
"About the same time we had a lovely Darci Brahma colt out of Mystify that was part owned by Uncle Bruce that we were going to race. He won a trial and we got an offer we couldn't refuse and sold him and we then put Uncle Bruce into Replique. So instead of having a grandson of Seamist, Bruce now has a granddaughter of the mare raced by his mother and my grandmother."
Bing Wigley was the daughter of Ken Austin, an original inductee in the New Zealand Hall of Fame, and one of the founding fathers of thoroughbred breeding in New Zealand. He established Inglewood Stud in the late 1930's, but unfortunately it was sold after his death in the late 1950's.
In 1971 his grandson Nick and his wife Carol, purchased the stud and its existing bloodstock. Soon thereafter Nick and Carol stood the very successful Nashua stallion Beaufort Sea (USA). Besides Seamist, Beaufort Sea also left the parochially named Canterbury Belle, who provided the Wigley's with a lot of thrills, winning 10 races including the Group One 1000 Guineas at Riccarton and the Group One Stradbroke Handicap. Both Canterbury Belle and Seamist went on to be successful broodmares for Inglewood and their daughters are still in the broodmare band now.
"We have too many of Seamist's descendants really," joked Wigley, "it's a real filly family and every year we seem to get a lot of fillies. From 13 foals this year we have 10 fillies, and from 12 foals last year we had nine fillies. We have three daughters of Seamist. Mystify, Mystique and Point Park (by Thorn Park[AUS ]".
"It's a nice family, it is great to be breeding from a family like that, and adding another stakes winner, but they are slow to mature and take time. I struggle to get them to a yearling sale, but at the same time she is a profitable mare from a good family with a lot of history associated with the farm."
- Michelle Saba
According to Gus Wigley, the now manager of Inglewood Stud, his father had been holidaying in the south during the week leading into the Guineas, and he had been the surrogate trainer.
"It was a great way for Dad to end his holiday, and the icing on the cake was that she is the first stakes winner he has trained after having around 13 stakes placings.
"He doesn't train that many and we always have lots of fillies, like Mystique Replique's mother, and he has tended to probably race them at the highest level to get black type, but all in all it was quite exciting," he said.
"It's the first stakes winner the farm has produced since Bianca and I became involved with the stud in 2012. "
Replique who is raced by Inglewood Stud and Bruce Wigley, had one start last autumn as a two-year-old and then commenced her three-year-old season at the end of December and broke maiden ranks three starts later. She followed that win with a fast finishing second to Derby hopeful Son of Maher in the 1400 metre Listed Dunedin Guineas, and once stepped up to 1600 in Southland Guineas relished the extra ground and ran on to win by three-quarters of a length.
A daughter of Darci Brahma she is the first foal of the Montjeu(IRE) mare Mystique, herself a winner of four races who was placed in the Listed Warstep Stakes and CJC Metropolitan Trophy. She is a full-sister to Mystify who won three and was also placed in the Listed Warstep Stakes, CJC Metropolitan as well the Dunedin Guineas, and Canterbury Stakes.
They are both out of the mighty stakes winning Beaufort Sea mare Seamist, who was raced by Bing and Sandy Wigley, parents of Nick and grandparents to Gus. Seamist won 12 races and was the South Island Filly of the year, with her wins in the Gore, and Dunedin Guineas and placing in the Group One 1000 Guineas.
As an older horse she won the Group One New Zealand Stakes at Ellerslie, the Group Two Japan- New Zealand International Trophy, the Group Three Awapuni Gold Cup, and the Highview Stakes. She was also placed at Group One level in the Easter Handicap, Thorndon Mile and Captain Cook Stakes.
As a broodmare she also produced Torlesse (by Volksraad[GB]) to win 12 races including the New Zealand Cup and Group Three CJC Gold Cup at Riccarton as well as a Group Three Spring Classic and Dunedin Gold Cup. Her first foal Truthful by Trustful (AUS), won eight races and was stakes placed, another daughter Mountain Mist (Kaapstad) won a race and left a stakes placed winner in Catalina, and Spray an unraced daughter by Entrepreneur(GB) has left the stakes placed winners Corsage (Volksraad [IRE]) and Miss Thorn (Thorn Park[AUS]).
"I took a gamble this year with Mystique as she leaves such lovely types, and sent her to the Caulfield Guineas winner Shooting to Win (Northern Meteor[AUS]). It's more than I usually spend on a stud fee, but if you want to get in the top sales you have to breed to the better stallions. Dad always says it costs as much to prepare a $200,000 colt as it does a $20,000 colt," said Wigley.
Mystique has a Zacinto(GB) filly foal at foot, and has also produced an older brother by the same stallion who stands at Inglewood Stud.
"Dad reckons it's the best looking foal on the farm for years, she really is lovely. Dummy Myers bought the older Zacinto (GB), and the Iffraaj(IRE) filly was in the sale this year, but she got spooked after the neighbours let off fireworks at New Year and went through a couple of fences and stripped her leg, but now in hindsight I am quite happy to have her in the paddock".
"That is similar to what happened to Replique, she injured herself as a weanling. I went out one morning and found her back leg in tatters stripped right back to the cannon bone. We patched her up and put honey on it every day, and hoped that she would come right. She was originally meant for the sales until that happened."
"About the same time we had a lovely Darci Brahma colt out of Mystify that was part owned by Uncle Bruce that we were going to race. He won a trial and we got an offer we couldn't refuse and sold him and we then put Uncle Bruce into Replique. So instead of having a grandson of Seamist, Bruce now has a granddaughter of the mare raced by his mother and my grandmother."
Bing Wigley was the daughter of Ken Austin, an original inductee in the New Zealand Hall of Fame, and one of the founding fathers of thoroughbred breeding in New Zealand. He established Inglewood Stud in the late 1930's, but unfortunately it was sold after his death in the late 1950's.
In 1971 his grandson Nick and his wife Carol, purchased the stud and its existing bloodstock. Soon thereafter Nick and Carol stood the very successful Nashua stallion Beaufort Sea (USA). Besides Seamist, Beaufort Sea also left the parochially named Canterbury Belle, who provided the Wigley's with a lot of thrills, winning 10 races including the Group One 1000 Guineas at Riccarton and the Group One Stradbroke Handicap. Both Canterbury Belle and Seamist went on to be successful broodmares for Inglewood and their daughters are still in the broodmare band now.
"We have too many of Seamist's descendants really," joked Wigley, "it's a real filly family and every year we seem to get a lot of fillies. From 13 foals this year we have 10 fillies, and from 12 foals last year we had nine fillies. We have three daughters of Seamist. Mystify, Mystique and Point Park (by Thorn Park[AUS ]".
"It's a nice family, it is great to be breeding from a family like that, and adding another stakes winner, but they are slow to mature and take time. I struggle to get them to a yearling sale, but at the same time she is a profitable mare from a good family with a lot of history associated with the farm."
- Michelle Saba
