Winning Group 1 races is something that the Italian broodmare Nike Ek’s offspring have a taste for. Last Sunday, her two sons, Always Ek (sired by Filipp Roc) and Executiv Ek (sired by Face Time Bourbon) won and were second in the Group 1 race Gran Premio Lotteria in Naples. Sunday (May 11), her daughter, Diva Ek (sired by Trixton), won the Group 1 race Copenhagen Cup (1-1/4 miles) at Charlottenlund Racetrack in Copenhagen.
All three horses are trained by the Italian Alessandro Gocciadoro, but there is another coincidence. Always Ek was driven to victory by Magnus A. Djuse, while it was his brother, Mats E. Djuse, who brought Diva Ek to a secure victory in Copenhagen in 1:53.1 (mile rate). The purse for the winner was $60,000.
In Italy, a Group 1 race for 3-year-olds over 1-5/16 miles at Modena was won by the French Phillippe Allaire’s Italian-born Ginostrabliggi (sired by Muscle Hill) in 1:58.4 (mile rate). Ginostrabliggi, who is now unbeaten in eight career starts, earned $71,500 in first prize money.