The powerful Ridgemont Highlands team achieved a notable feat on Saturday – with their products Bard Of Avon, William Robertson and Team Gold finishing first, third and fourth in the R400 000 Bloodstock SA Sales Cup.
Third placegetter William Robertson is a son of Ridgemont’s highly promising sire Rafeef, who is on course to be named South Africa’s Leading First Season Sire for 2020-2021.
Saturday’s race, open to colts and geldings sold off last year’s National 2YO Sale, was won by the very promising Ashley Fortune-trained gelding Bard Of Avon.
Sales topper : Mystical View (Canford Cliffs – Mystical Miss) (Pic – Magic Millions)
The latter, an impressive winner on debut before finishing a close second in the Gr1 Gold Medallion on his only other start, was all the rage for the Bloodstock SA Sales Cup (1300m) and duly arrived in eye catching fashion.
Under Muzi Yeni, the Ashley Fortune trained Bard Of Avon hit the front 200m from home and kept going courageously to score by nearly half a length.
Now a winner of two of just three starts, Bard Of Avon was a R260 000 buy from last year’s Bloodstock South Africa National 2YO Sale.
The son of Var is out of the Dynasty mare Shakespeare’s Ros, an unraced half-sister to G3 Magnolia Handicap winner Fair Rosalind -the dam of Var’s G2 winning daughter Schippers.
In a great last week for the champion nursery, their five-time winning Gr1 sire Canford Cliffs daughter Mystical View topped the Magic Millions Perth Winter Racehorse Sale after selling to Gold Front Thoroughbred Breeding and Racing for A$160,000 (R1,72m).
Offered by Peters Investments, the filly is a two-time winner and was placed in both the Listed Belgravia Stakes and Listed Placid Ark Stakes late last year. She is a half-sister to multiple stakes winner Mystery Miss (Animal Kingdom), with her grandam the multiple Gr1-winning filly Magical Miss (Danehill).
Canford Cliffs is the sire of 42 stakes performers internationally. Other notable fillies sired by the Royal Ascot star include the group/graded stakes winners Jin Jin, Al Jazi, Fish River, La Falaise, Most Beautiful, Princess Asta and Princess Posh.
His first South African yearling crop impressed in the sales ring this year and he will stand the upcoming breeding season for a fee of R20 000 (Live Foal).
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