They had the misfortune of losing a highly-rated Zacinto youngster in a paddock accident before they welcomed the safe arrival of a sibling by Sacred Falls to Monday's home-bred GroupII James & Annie Sarten Memorial winner Ugo Foscolo.
"I watched that race and then I had to jump on the tractor and go out and bury the filly – that's two sides of breeding," stud general manager Gus Wigley said.
"The Zacinto filly had that X-factor about her and I reckon she could have made $200,000 to $300,000 at Karaka. It was a real shame and just a freak accident."
On a brighter side, Ugo Foscolo's success kept alive the farm's hopes of a dream Group One double for resident sire Zacinto at the upcoming New Zealand Cup carnival at Riccarton.
Ugo Foscolo will go into the Sothys NZ 2000 Guineas at the top of his game
following his Te Rapa victory while the Inglewood-bred and owned Zigwig, who is
trained by Wigley's father Nick, remains on target for the gavelhouse.com NZ
1000 Guineas."She'll go to Motukarara on Sunday for a Rating 65 over 1400 metres and then on to the Guineas, she's very much in contention and we're just taking a quieter route," Gus Wigley said.
Last season's Listed Champagne Stakes winner, Zigwig finished runner-up in her three-year-old debut before she was unplaced after a rough run in the Listed Canterbury Belle Stakes.
"She got badly knocked around and was hobbling the next day," Wigley said. "She had a week off and she's come back really well."
Zigwig's connections erred on the side of caution when they scratched the filly from Saturday's Listed Zacinto Stakes.
"There were only five nominations so we chucked one in, but we decided to stick to our original plan and go to Motukarara next," Wigley said.
"I reckon we're right in the mix for the Guineas on her best form and we've got the home track advantage." – NZ Racing Desk.
