Leading South African jockey Bernard Fayd'Herbe is set to have his first ride in Britain at Wolverhampton on Friday, November 27, when he partners Cold As Ice in the £19,000 32Red Fillies Conditions Stakes (6.45pm).
The seven-furlong Tapeta contest is a Fast-Track Qualifier for the £150,000 32Red.com All-Weather Fillies' & Mares' Championships Conditions Stakes over the same distance on Polytrack at Lingfield Park on Good Friday, March 25. Fayd'Herbe has partnered some of South Africa's best horses since he started riding in 1996, including three-time champion Pocket Power and J J The Jet Plane, on whom he won the Al Quoz Sprint at Meydan, Dubai, in 2011. He heads to Wolverhampton to ride South African import Cold As Ice, who also makes her UK debut for Newmarket trainer William Haggas. The four-year-old filly has won five of her seven starts, which have all been at Kenilworth, including a pair of impressive Grade Two victories. She was beaten a short-head on her latest appearance in the Grade One Majorca Stakes over a mile in January. Haggas said: "Bernard has a contract with the owners (Kathy Finch and Bridget Kieswetter) in South Africa and they asked if he could come over. He rode Cold As Ice on Tuesday morning and seemed very happy with her. "I think it is his first ride in the UK and it will be an interesting experience for him. He has ridden all over the world and is a top-class jockey. "Cold As Ice came to us in July and I didn't want to spend the winter doing nothing with her, so the owners and I decided to give her a go on the All-Weather and this seemed the obvious route to go. "She should be fit enough to run a good race. Obviously, it is a Fast-Track Qualifier so we are hoping to get qualification out of the way but she might keep running on the All-Weather. We will see how we go on Friday first and then decide." A field of nine for the 32Red Fillies Conditions Stakes also features Lamar (James Tate/Luke Morris), who has already qualified for All-Weather Championships Finals Day following a game victory in the Listed 32Red/ebfstallions.com Fleur de Lys Fillies' Stakes at Lingfield Park on October 29. Marco Botti has declared Italian Listed winner Kyllachy Queen (Adam Kirby) and Fleur de Lys Fillies' Stakes sixth Alfajer (Martin Harley), while Invoke (Keith Dalgleish/Phillip Makin), who was seventh behind Lamar at Lingfield Park, is also set to line up. Four-time course and distance scorer Maggie Pink (Michael Appleby/Alistair Rawlinson), Listed Unibet Golden Rose Stakes fourth Skinny Love (Karl Burke/Joey Haynes), Lucky Di (Peter Hedger/Charles Bishop) and Secret Hint (Andrew Balding/Liam Keniry) complete the field. Wolverhampton hosts a bumper eight-race card on Friday, with the first race due off at 4.10pm.
