News

Varenna Miss on the Rise

17th Oct 2010

Breednet - Tara Madgwick - Saturday, 16 October 2010

Lightly raced Redoute’s Choice mare Varenna Miss confirmed the high standing in which she is held by connections when scoring a narrow victory in testing conditions in the last race at Caulfield on Saturday.

The Tony Noonan trained mare belied her lack of race experience when charging home between runners to score a dogged victory in the open fillies and mares event over 1100 metres at just her third race start.

A patient approach looks like paying dividends for Varenna Miss, who was purchased by bloodstock investor Glenn Fraser for just $80,000 from the Twin Palms Dispersal at the 2009 Inglis Breeding Stock Sale.

As a half-sister by Redoute’s Choice to stakes-winner Silently from Group Three winner Mica’s Pride, Varenna Miss would seem to have been a bargain pick up at just $80,000, but there is a story behind her purchase as Glenn Fraser explains.

“Tony Noonan bought her half brother Anadite at MM back in 2006 and I was with him, so took 20pc, but he had an issue that stopped him performing as we had hoped and we all did our money,” Fraser recalled.

In 2009, Mr Fraser was overseas at Royal Ascot with Tony Noonan, but asked Kerrie Tibbie of Goodwood Farm to go to the Inglis Sale with the goal of purchasing either Mica’s Pride or her daughter by Redoute’s Choice (Varenna Miss).

“The mare made 300k which was more than I had for her, so we bid on the Redoute’s Choice filly and got her for 80k,” said Fraser.

“She has a badly bent front leg and is a giant at around 580kg, so Kerrie Tibbey and our vet Michael Robinson both advised me she was high risk but with patience we may get her to the track.

“As a result, I could not get comfortable asking anyone else to race her with me so, so she is the first and only horse I have ever raced alone with just my family.”

Varenna Miss has now won $63,150 with the promise of a good deal more to come.