Nother Russia emulated her champion dam Mother Russia when she won Saturday’s G1 HSH Empress Club Stakes at Turffontein.
Bred by Wilgerbosdrift, and racing for Mauritzfontein, Nother Russia picked up the first Grade One win of her brief career thus far with a comprehensive 1.4 length win over Bella Sonata in Saturday’s 1600m race, with Tahini back in third.
Trained by Mike de Kock, Nother Russia powered home to record her second consecutive graded race victory under jockey Craig Zackey –the only jockey to have ridden the four-year-old thus far. The pair had previously teamed up to win the G3 Acacia Handicap over Bella Sonata last time out.
Now a winner of five her nine outings to date, Nother Russia pushed her earnings past the R1 million mark with her first G1 win on Saturday. Hopefully she does not stop here!
The chestnut four-year-old is the fourth G1 winner sired by Wilgerbosdrift’s late sire Tiger Ridge, also responsible for Equus Champion, and Triple Tiara winner, Cherry On The Top, G1 Sansui Summer Cup winner Wagner, and the Dubai based G1 Cape Guineas winner Noah From Goa. Tiger Ridge is also damsire of recent G1 winner Orchid Island.
Nother Russia, inbred to the great stallion Storm Cat, is out of the sadly deceased Equus Champion Mother Russia, whose 13 career wins included four at G1 level, including the G1 L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate.
She is third Wilgerbosdrift bred filly to land a G1 race this season, following Orchid Island (G1 Wilgerbosdrift SA Fillies Classic) and Nightingale (G1 Klawervlei Majorca Stakes).