Top Cape heavyweight jockey Bernard Fayd’herbe flew out of Cape Town on Sunday evening en route to the UK, where he is scheduled to ride the outstanding Avontuur-bred 3yo filly of last season, Cold As Ice, at Wolverhampton on Friday evening.
Cold As Ice – carrying the flag internationally
Cold…
The brilliant daughter of Western Winter has won five of her seven starts to date, and will best be remembered by local fans as a desperately unlucky loser of the Gr1 Majorca Stakes on Met day.
Cold As Ice has her first run for trainer William Haggas in a Conditions Race for fillies over 1400m.
She has not run for ten months and this will be her first start on the polytrack.
While she is a winner over 1400m at Gr2 level, this will be a major test, given her suspect fitness and trip limitations – it was sheer brilliance and the heart of a lion that carried her at a mile.
Cold As Ice was purchased on the 2013 Cape Premier Yearling Sale Book 1 for R875 000 and races in a partnership of Brian and Kathy Finch and Wayne and Belinda Kieswetter.
The Green Street Bloodstock-sponsored Bernard Fayd’herbe is retained by Ridgemont Stud.
Cold As Ice is by Western Winter out of the lightning fast seven time winning National Assembly mare, Viva.
The race is being run at 20h15 SA time.
And Hot!
With a proven international record of producing stakes winning progeny, Avontuur’s Oratorio is the talking stallion amongst breeders and his first SA yearlings (31 of them) will be offered at the Cape Premier Yearling Sale in January.
Pippa Mickleburgh – looking forward to January and the Cape Premier Yearling Sale
Avontuur GM Pippa Mickleburgh was naturally thrilled that ‘O’s champion son Military Attack picked up yet another major race when winning Saturday’s Gr2 Longines Jockey Club Cup at Sha Tin.
The former Hong Kong Horse Of The Year edged former Gr1 QE II Cup winner Blazing Speed to land the 2000m contest by a head.
He is now likely to be aimed at the Gr1 Hong Kong Cup in December, where the seven-year-old Military Attack will bid to improve on his short head second last year.
“He’s getting on in age but I’m sure he’ll still be a force on the big day. I’d say he’ll strip a little bit fitter from this run, as I’m sure the second horse will – that was a big run from him, too. I’ll try to have him the best I can on the day, ” said trainer Caspar Fownes.
Military Attack – stakes winning soldier and going strong at 7
Military Attack has now notched up 13 wins with his victories coming from 1600 to 2000m. To date, he has won eight group races with his major victories coming in Hong Kong and Singapore.
Among the son of Oratorio’s greatest wins were the Gr1 Audemars Piguet Queen Elizabeth II Cup, Gr1 Singapore Airlines International Cup and two runnings of the Gr1 Hong Kong Gold Cup.
Oratorio has been enjoying another fine run of success in 2015, with his other major winners including recent Gr1 Underwood Stakes winner Mourinho.
