“SHE’s a once in a lifetime filly,” raved jockey Anthony Delpech as he dismounted Igugu after she’d won the Gr 2 Ipi Tombe Challenge over 1600m  at Turffontein on Saturday.

Igugu did it in style, and in her familiar start-to-finish fashion, to the delight of a small but appreciative Sunday crowd at the city track. She won by 5.25-lengths from Queen’s Bay, “never coming out of cruise mode”, as aptly described by tabonline.co.za.

“When you look at horses at the training track every day you get used to them, but when I saw her in the parade ring it struck how much Igugu had grown and filled out. Her chest and shoulders are bigger. She was impressive, not wound up, and there’s lot’s to come,” Mike added.

Igugu’s immediate mission will be the Gr 1 TBA Paddock Stakes over 1800m at Kenilworth on 7 January, followed by the Gr 1 J&B Met on 28 January.

“I’m still hoping that we’ll be able to export her early next year so we can prepare her, perhaps, for a race at Royal Ascot, but if that’s not possible we’ll probably take another shot at the Durban July,” Mike said.

Igugu is co-owned by Sheikh Mohhammed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum and Andre Macdonald.