Stakes Potential for Cambridge Stud Homebred Mare Frostfair

Media Release - Saturday November 23

Luberon’s heroics in the Gr.3 Haunui Farm Counties Bowl (1100m) gave trainer Lance Noble reason to expect something special from her trackwork companion Frostfair in the very next race on the card at Pukekohe on Saturday, and so it proved.

Lightly raced mare Frostfair warmed up for Saturday’s Stella Artois 1500 Championship Qualifier (1400m) with a bold gallop on Tuesday in company with stablemate Luberon. Noble was enormously impressed with that work at the time, and even more so after Luberon blew her rivals away by two and a half lengths in the Counties Bowl.

Frostfair winning the 1500 Championship Qualifier Rating 75 (1400m) at Pukekohe on Saturday.   Photo: Kenton Wright (Race Images)

“She worked with Luberon on Tuesday of this week and both of them worked absolutely superbly,” Noble said. “That meant we came here today with a little bit of confidence, and especially after Luberon’s race earlier in the afternoon.”

Frostfair is putting together a promising record in her own right, heading into Saturday’s $75,000 Rating 75 event with six starts under her belt for two wins, a second, two thirds and a fourth. The four-year-old daughter of Written Tycoon was a strong last-start winner in Rating 65 grade at Ellerslie on November 5.

Jockey Warren Kennedy positioned Frostfair in eighth place in a strung-out field as Leroy Brown, Butterfield, Force Of Nature and Keegan led the charge until to the point of the home turn.

Frostfair was still more than half a dozen lengths from the leaders at the top of the straight, but Kennedy went to work and the favourite began to move through her gears.

She bounded past Butterfield at the 150m mark and forged clear, opening up a winning margin of three and a half lengths over Sorghaghtani and Force Of Nature.

Advertisement

“She probably got a little bit further back than we might have hoped, but Warren didn’t panic,” Noble said. “It was a good win in the end.

“She’s a big mare that’s taken a bit of time, but she’s never been out of the first four in her career. She’s notching up a pretty good record. We’ll probably look for some black type at some stage in her campaign.”

Frostfair’s performance came in the toughest test of her career to date and made a good impression on Kennedy.

“She’s really coming along well,” he said. “She’s won with a lot of authority today. She had a good look around in the straight, but she’d already put the race to bed pretty early. I certainly think she’s black-type quality.”

Bred and raced by Cambridge Stud owners Brendan and Jo Lindsay, Frostfair is out of the Commands mare Thames Court, who herself won three races including the Gr.3 Alexandra Stakes (1600m) at Moonee Valley. She also finished fourth in the Gr.1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield.

Thames Court is the dam of two winners from two named foals, with Frostfair’s older half-brother Royal Court winning over 2000m in Australia last year. Thames Court produced a colt by Pierro in 2021, followed by a Capitalist filly in 2022. The latter was sold for $200,000 at Karaka earlier this year. – LOVERACING.NZ News Desk.

Advertisment

Race Result - Stella Artois 1500 Championship Qualifier (Bm75) 1400m

Pukekohe Park Track: Good(4) Time: 1:23.06
1
Frostfair
- 4m Written Tycoon (AUS) x Thames Court (AUS) (Commands (AUS))
Tnr: L R Noble Rdr: W B Kennedy 55.5
2
3.3
Sorghaghtani
- 5m Mongolian Khan (AUS) x Treasury (AUS) (Northern Meteor (AUS))
Tnr: G Richardson & R Norvall Rdr: Rihaan Goyaram 52
3
4.1
Force Of Nature
- 4g Savabeel (AUS) x Elusive Nature (NZ) (O'reilly (NZ))
Tnr: Andrew Forsman Rdr: G Rooke 56.5
4
4.2
Joshua Brown
- 5g Dalghar (FR) x Midnight Mistress (NZ) (Savabeel (AUS))
Tnr: L R Gussey Rdr: B D Rogerson 55.5
5
4.4
Our Absolute
- 4m Niagara (AUS) x Vuela (AUS) (Anabaa (USA))
Tnr: R & R Rogers Rdr: L H Satherley 56.5
6
4.5
Overdrawn
- 4g Shamexpress (NZ) x Max It Out (AUS) (Northern Meteor (AUS))
Tnr: A W Pike Rdr: Matthew Cartwright 58.5
7
4.5
No Secret
- 7m Niagara (AUS) x Justa Secret (NZ) (Sakhee's Secret (GB))
Tnr: M B Garrett Rdr: N S Parmar 54
8
6.5
Butterfield
- 9g Niagara (AUS) x Casey (NZ) (Towkay (AUS))
Tnr: P J Mccarten Rdr: Tayla Mitchell 55.5
9
8.3
Knights Realm
- 5g Castledale (IRE) x Qui Vivra Verra (NZ) (Stravinsky (USA))
Tnr: C R Isdale Rdr: U A Holmquist 57
10
9.2
Inspired By Art
- 4m So You Think (NZ) x La Bella Delicia (NZ) (O'reilly (NZ))
Tnr: Mark Walker & Sam Bergerson Rdr: W F Pinn 55
11
9.4
Ultimate Focus
- 7g Smart Missile (AUS) x Bondarenko (NZ) (Pins (AUS))
Tnr: Ben & Ryan Foote Rdr: K A Myers 58
12
14.7
Keegan
- 6g Swiss Ace (AUS) x Kilderry (NZ) (Mossman (AUS))
Tnr: Ben & Ryan Foote Rdr: Joe Doyle 59
13
15.6
Leroy Brown
- 4g Ace High (AUS) x Zizi (NZ) (Savabeel (AUS))
Tnr: S Ralph Rdr: Billy Jacobson 55.5
14
25.7
Sako
- 4g Ardrossan (AUS) x Miss Maren (NZ) (Stravinsky (USA))
Tnr: S B Marsh Rdr: M J Mc Nab 56
More Reading...
Two Highest Priced Yearlings in World This Year Highlight Tattersalls October Day 1
The opening day of Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale saw two colts realise 3,700,000 guineas and 3,600,000 guineas, both exceeding the highest price for a yearling sold anywhere in the world in 2025, and five seven-figure lots.
MM Gold Coast Horses In Training Sale Links
Tuesday saw the final breeze ups at the Gold Coast for the Magic Millions Horses In Training Sale which starts on Thursday so here’s our links to useful data including the pinhook report, with most lots having been sold previously.
G2 Next for Cambridge Stud's Frostfair
Frostfair will be given her first tilt at stakes level later this month after she recorded her third successive win at Ellerslie on New Year’s Day in the Barfoot & Thompson 1400.
Gimcrack Winner Bred By Cornerstone
THE "BACKSLAPPING" in the backwaters of the Barossa on Saturday afternoon, paled into insignificance when compared to the celebrations of the connections of SHIKI that won on debut!
OTI Racing officially enters New Zealand market
OTI Racing is officially going trans-Tasman, with the Australian syndicator becoming a licensed New Zealand syndicator this week.
Wrote SW on Comeback Trail
Robbie Patterson had high Classic hopes for Read About It last season before his rising young star’s progress was halted by illness.
National Thoroughbred Week invites support through GoFundMe campaign
National Thoroughbred Week (NTW) is calling on the thoroughbred community and broader public to be part of history, with the launch of a GoFundMe campaign to help bring this inaugural celebration to life.
Sires With Winners - Tuesday October 7
Here is the full list of 25 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Briasa Boost as More Youngsters Impress on HIT Sale Eve
The timing couldn’t be better for a sale page's pedigree boost, with Briasa announcing himself as one of Australia’s most exciting sprinters following his dominant victory in Saturday’s $1 million Group Two Premiere Stakes (1200m) at Randwick.
Sword of State 2YO Ready for Debut
A pair of promising youngsters are set to make their debut for Cambridge trainer Chad Ormsby at Avondale on Wednesday, but track conditions may scupper plans for one of them.