Ardad’s great start to the season continued on Monday when the John Bridger-trained Arboy Will defied his odds of 150/1 to make all at Windsor, beating red-hot favourite Zoltan Star.
That favourite, trained by Richard Hannon, just so happened to be bred by Overbury Stallions and our friends at Dukes Stud, but this was one time we didn’t mind losing!
Ardad is now the only first-season sire with two winners to his name, with Blue Collar Lad having got him off the mark last week at Bath. In that same race, the Ardad filly Honorah finished fourth, while Ardad’s first runner, Vintage Clarets, was fourth in the Brocklesby Stakes for Richard Fahey.
William Carson, the winning jockey aboard Arboy Will, said after the race, “I knew he’d jump and run because he’d done a barrier trial, and he jumped well. Hopefully Mr Bridger has a horse for Royal Ascot now.”
John Bridger, who was notching his first ever juvenile debutant winner, added, “We’ve always had a few two-year-olds but they have usually been more back-end ones who have taken a bit of time, but we couldn’t take any time with him as he was already there. When you go to pull him up he’s always wanting to go on.”
Arboy Will was bred by the late Anthony Byrne out of a Halling half-sister to G2 Santa Ana Stakes winner Madam Dancealot and he failed to find a buyer at the Tattersalls Foal Sale, where he was bought in for just 1,500gns. Blue Collar Lad was sold for just 1,000gns as a yearling to his trained Robyn Brisland.
Ardad’s stock at the forthcoming breeze-up sales will likely garner much more interest. He has two fillies and a colt for sale at Tattersalls in this week’s Craven Sale, and another seven two-year-olds entered for next week’s Goffs UK Breeze-up Sale at Doncaster.
Ardad also has six youngsters entered to run this week. Fourshadesofsilver and Beautiful Sunshine are set to make their debuts at Newmarket’s Craven meeting, while Vintage Clarets, Honorah and Blue Collar Lad are all entered to make quick reappearances, and Vaunted could be the first two-year-old runner for Clive Cox and the new Keep Kicking Racing syndicate at Bath on Friday.
