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Xigera makes the grade in G2 Mother Goose

by Keith McCalmont

Rigney Racing’s Kentucky homebred Xigera confirmed her status as an elite dirt horse with an impressive 3 1/2-length score in Saturday’s 66th renewal of the Grade 2, $250,000 Mother Goose, a nine-furlong route for sophomore fillies, at Belmont at the Big A.

Trained by Philip Bauer and piloted by Julien Leparoux, the Nyquist dark bay entered from a commanding 6 1/4-length romp in the 1 1/16-mile Seneca Overnight on September 23 at Churchill Downs to secure her first main track win. The talented dark bay previously won a trio of turf starts, including the one-mile Tepin in July at Ellis Park.

Bauer and owner Richard Rigney had considered sending Xigera to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Distaff on November 4 at Santa Anita Park, but believes the team made the right decision to ship the emerging star to New York.

“The hindsight is the easiest sight, so now that it’s done, it was the right decision,” Bauer said. “I’m overwhelmed. It’s a pretty cool race historically. This year, as a whole, has just been phenomenal for Richard and us, and to accomplish what we have is something special and we need to make sure we don’t take it for granted. It was the right decision and hopefully, it will springboard her to a 4-year-old campaign that has been as impressive as her last two races.”

Xigera stalked in second position to the inside of the Junior Alvarado-piloted Defining Purpose as the Chad Brown-trained Undervalued Asset led the seven-horse Mother Goose field through splits of 23.79 seconds, 48.46 and 1:12.95 over the fast main track. Occult, the 2-1 Brown-trained second choice under Irad Ortiz, Jr., raced in fifth position down the backstretch and made her move outside rivals as Undervalued Asset took the field into the final turn.

Leparoux gave Xigera her cue midway through the final turn and put away the challenge of Grade 1 Ashland-winner Defining Purpose, opening up a 2 1/2-length advantage at the stretch call, before surging to a comfortable score in a final time of 1:48.99. Defining Purpose completed the exacta by three-quarters of a length over the late-running Occult with Julia Shining, Foggy Night, Undervalued Asset and Peak Popularity completing the order of finish.

Bauer credited Leparoux with engineering a perfect trip.

“I told Mr. Rigney going into the first turn, ‘There’s no excuses. If she’s good enough, she’ll win,’” Bauer said. “Especially when they slowed it down the second quarter. We thought the four [Undervalued Asset] was going to be a rabbit considering the entries for Chad. When the fractions were as realistic as they were, I felt pretty confident into the far turn when Julien was in position and the demeanor he presented sitting on her. You never know until they cross the wire, but I’d like most of my horses to look like that at the quarter pole.”

Leparoux said he felt confident throughout as he tracked the early speed of Undervalued Asset.

“She has good tactical speed as long as she’s relaxed,” Leparoux said. “I knew Chad would send one of his fillies to the lead, so I was planning on sitting next to him and making a big run at the end. We always knew she was talented. She’s very good on the turf, but on the dirt it looks like she’s much better.”

Alvarado said the Kenny McPeek-trained Defining Purpose, who added the Grade 3 Indiana Oaks to her ledger in July, was brave in defeat.

“My filly did what I thought she was going to do. I took my shot at the quarter pole to the favorite, I tried to make it competitive there,” Alvarado said. “But she pulled away from me. My filly still ran a great race to get second. I thought I had enough horse to at least put up a fight, but the other filly was too much today.”

Xigera graduated at second asking last August over turf at Saratoga Race Course and subsequently was elevated to third that October in her dirt debut in the Grade 1 Darley Alcibiades at Keeneland. She would make her next four starts on turf, winning twice, before returning to the main track in the Seneca Overnight.

Bauer indicated Xigera could make her next start against older fillies and mares in the Grade 3 Falls City on November 23 at Churchill Downs.

Xigera, out of the stakes-winning Black Tie Affair mare Argent Affair, is a half-sister to graded stakes-winner Forty Under, who won the 2018 Grade 3 Pilgrim over the Belmont Park turf. She banked $137,500 in victory while improving her record to 9-5-1-1 and returned $4.10 for a $2 win bet.

Live racing resumes Sunday for a special 10-race card on Closing Day Sunday at the Belmont at the Big A fall meet to celebrate the best of New York for the annual Empire Showcase Day, featuring eight stakes races worth $1.6 million, led by the $250,000 Empire Classic and $250,000 Empire Distaff. First post is 12:35 p.m. Eastern. 

America's Day at the Races will present live coverage and analysis of every day of Belmont at the Big A on the networks of FOX Sports. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule. 

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Belmont at the Big A, and the best way to bet every race of the fall meet. Available to horse players nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.