Owned and bred by Bob Emery, Nadege (5 B. M. Giant’s Causeway – Champagne, by Zabeel) proved too strong when winning the $45,000, Tui Brewery Wairarapa Breeders Stakes, a listed race for fillies and mares over a mile at Tauherenikau on Sunday.

Nadege is the first foal from super race-mare Champagne, also owned by Emery, who won the group one Ansett Stakes at Rosehill, along with a host of other good performances in top company, before ending her career with an effortless win in the group one MacKinnon Stakes, then bowing out after an epic finish for second to Jezabeel (Zabeel) in the 1998 Melbourne Cup.

With seven victories from only nineteen starts, she earned $2,137,782.

Trained by Scott Lucock and ridden by Mark Du Plessis, Nadege is fashioning a record her mum would be proud of, with five victories, including three from her last six races, five seconds, and seldom far away in twenty starts.

After displaying her customary early speed from the barrier, Nadege settled outside the pacemaker Elcee’s Gold (Electronic Zone), and once balanced up in the straight, she was dominant in scoring comfortably by one length.

Sharp Princess (Pins) rounded off solidly from the trail for second, to finish three quarters of a length ahead of Elcee’s Gold, who stuck to her task admirably.

Although the time for the mile was a slick 1:34.07, those off the pace found it difficult to make any ground on the leading division.

With the physical size and pedigree to advance over more ground, Nadege has used her early foot speed advantageously to have recorded four of her five victories at a mile.

Du Plessis suggested that following a break, Nadege would be looking to step up to a middle distance.

While not electric in her acceleration, she does possess tenacious and genuine attributes that have stood by her in tight finishes, and she appears capable of attaining greater heights as the length of the journey increases.

Earlier in the day, Du Plessis was successful aboard Southern Heights (3 Br. F. Align – Alpine Beauty, by Khozaam).

A strapping filly from the infamous Heights family, she is trained at Hastings by Guy Lowry and Grant Cullen.