Progressive mare Nigella Lane had hinted in her most recent starts that another winning turn was coming her way and she delivered on those signs with a dominant performance to take out the Lockwood Coromandel Peninsula Thames Cup (1600m) at Te Aroha.
Successful over 1600m at Tauranga in November, the five-year-old then finished off well for sixth at Wanganui before going a slashing race for fourth behind stablemate Khafre in the Listed Matamata Cup (1600m) last month.
Manning believed that Saturday’s Thames Cup was a prime target given she was dropping from Listed company to a rating 75 contest and with his stable apprentice Rihaan Goyaram utilising his 3kgs allowance, she carried a handy 55kgs on her back.
Goyaram, who was shooting for his third win on the day after piloting Finest Hour to victory for Manning in race three and then Saltnesse for Paul Mirabelli in race five, produced a ten out of ten effort as he took the initiative to sit Nigella Lane outside the lead before taking over in the home straight.
The daughter of Niagara dashed clear and held out her rivals with ease as she went to the line nearly five lengths to the good of Maldini with pacemaker Trigon Lad fighting bravely for third.
Manning, who was at Trentham with Khafre who put in a bold effort when running second in the Gr.3 Rydges Wellington Airport Phar Lap Trophy (1600m), was thrilled for both Nigella Lane and his apprentice.
“She (Nigella Lane) has always been a good mare, but she has been quite unsound at times with a few issues,” Manning said.
“I did think she would be hard to beat today as she was dropping a long way in class and with the allowance she got, she was at a very competitive weight.
“I thought Rihaan rode her beautifully as he could have got stuck wide but he pressed on and got outside the leader and when he asked her she really sprinted hard and just kept giving.
“This is a race I really wanted to win as I had won it twice before with Gold Digger (1997) and Hoopla (2004), so taking it again is very satisfying.
“We won’t make any decisions with her now but a race like the Kaimai Stakes (Listed, 2000m) in February is one I think would really suit her.”
Manning also indicated that stablemate Khafre was another contender for the Listed Matamata Veterinary Services Kaimai Stakes (2000m) to be raced at Matamata on 15 February.
Nigella Lane is a daughter of well performed mare Casabella Lane who won six races including the Gr.2 Japan NZ Trophy (1600m).
