Blast From The Past: 2014 Super Sprint

`She is the sort of filly who only comes along once in twenty years.’

Tiggy Wiggy’s trainer Richard Hannon was still at school when the two-year-old Lyric Fantasy carried almost all before her for his father. Lyric Fantasy’s five wins in 1992 included the National Stakes, the Queen Mary Stakes, the Super Sprint and the Nunthorpe Stakes, and she ended her campaign by finishing second to Sayyedati in the Cheveley Park Stakes. The campaign set out for Tiggy Wiggy - described by her trainer as the fastest horse the stable has had since Lyric Fantasy - followed a similar path, with her six wins including the National Stakes at Sandown, the Super Sprint at Newbury, the Lowther Stakes at York and the Cheveley Park Stakes at Newmarket, and she was only just touched off in the Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot. Tiggy Wiggy was the highest-rated two-year-old filly in Europe, which was another notable achievement for Hannon in his first season after taking over the training licence at Herridge Racing Stables, to put alongside the stable’s five Group 1 wins, including the 2000 Guineas, and winning the trainers’ championship

After finishing a creditable neck second of 21 to Anthem Alexander in the Queen Mary, outpaced over two furlongs out and losing her position before responding well to challenge again inside the last furlong, Tiggy Wiggy looked ready for a step up to six furlongs, though the extremely valuable Weatherbys Super Sprint over five furlongs at Newbury in July presented an opportunity too good to pass up, with Tiggy Wiggy having a good chance on form despite having to concede weight to her 23 rivals (a maximum field was reduced by one at the start). The 5/2 favourite Tiggy Wiggy didn’t just win, she routed her field by six lengths - matching Lyric Fantasy’s winning distance - and produced one of the very best performances (running to a rating of 121) by a two-year-old filly in the previous 25 years. Tiggy Wiggy was all speed, sent straight into the lead and quickening clear over a furlong out to win from Haxby. The subsequent exploits of third-placed Fast Act (close second in the Molecomb Stakes next time), the fourth Bond’s Girl (went on to win a similar valuable event at Doncaster) and the sixth Parsley (won two of her next four starts and was just touched off in the Firth of Clyde Stakes) all franked the form.

Richard Hannon credited Tiggy Wiggy’s much improved performance to the `enormous physical improvement’ she had apparently made since Royal Ascot, however she failed to really train on as a three-year-old, finishing third in the 1000 Guineas but basically underperforming in all four starts including the inaugural Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot. She was subsequently sold to Coolmore for 2.1m guineas to stand as a broodmare, and was sent to Galileo. As a matter of interest, the three other two-year-old fillies rated 120 or higher since Lyric Fantasy (who was rated 115) were Queen’s Logic (125), Hooray (121) and Six Perfections (120p in 2002), the last-named unfortunate not to win the 1000 Guineas after suffering a nightmare passage.