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Nikita will forever hold a special place in the hearts of Bluegables Farm principals Monty and Judy Henderson.
They bred and part-own the filly who on Saturday credited their resident stallion Shamoline Warrior, a Group Three-winning son of Shamardal, with his first black type winner when she was successful in the Listed New Zealand Bloodstock Warstep Stakes at Riccarton.
“That was excellent and we’ve also got a full-sister here,” Monty Henderson said.“We sold a half-sister by Mastercraftsman to John Sargent, the mare’s got a Niagara yearling and she’s in foal to Super Easy.”
Henderson bought the dam Springburn in Sydney and subsequently the mare’s daughter Happy Hippy became a multiple stakes winner and was Group One placed.“The grand-dam Lady Violet holds the Australasian record of having had 17 foals in a row,” he said.
Nikita would have been sold but for suffering a back injury just before NZB’s National Yearling Sale at Karaka in 2015 and the Hendersons now race her with Victorian syndicator Kirk Devers, who enjoyed a racing share in Shamoline Warrior.Nikita is trained for them by Shaune Ritchie, who sent her south to finish fourth in the Listed NZB Airfreight Stakes a fortnight ago.
She settled in behind the pace on Saturday for rider Samantha Collett, who was hard at work on the filly at the top of the straight and she responded valiantly to beat Tuilana and Showemup.