Ultra consistent mare Fleur de Lune (NZ) resumed from a spell with a strong win in the G3 Foxbridge Plate (1200m) at Te Rapa on Saturday.
Fleur de Lune (5m Stravinsky – Kapsjoy by Kaapstad) had finished second to Fritzy Boy in last year’s race but turned the tables with a half-length victory in their return clash. “She’s got heaps of improvement ahead and I always thought she would be better as a five-year-old,” trainer Lee Somervell said. “It augurs well for later on in the season.”
A model of consistency, Fleur de Lune has won 4 races and been placed 10 times in 18 starts. The G1 Makfi Challenge Stakes (1400m) at Hastings on September 1 will give the mare a chance to add further black type to her record.
Fleur de Lune is by Coolmore – Cambridge Stud shuttler Stravinsky and is bred on the same Kaapstad cross as NZ stakes winners Captivate and Tip The Wink.
The Foxbridge winner is an older half-sister to last season’s LR Levin Ryder Stakes placegetter Kapsboy (Ishiguru). Their dam Kapsjoy is a half-sister to LR Gore Guineas winner He’s Got The Power (Kaapstad).
Triple Group 1 winner Shez Sinsational (Ekraar) failed to fire on her seasonal bow finishing more than 11 lengths from the winner.
FLEUR DE LUNE
Group 3 winner in New Zealand