Fiona Carmichael was big news at Royal Ascot as her unbeaten homebred Wootton Basset colt Carmers won the Gr 2 Queen’s Vase and smashed the track record in the process. (via X ITM@IREthoroughbred)
A big supporter of South African racing, Fiona Carmichael, watched her unbeaten home-bred Wootton Bassett colt Carmers win the Gr 2 Queen’s Vase over one mile and six furlongs in track record time on Wednesday, thus giving trainer Paddy Twomey a big win with his first Royal Ascot runner.
Fiona is an owner of close to 15 years standing and has a Bloodstock operation called Westward Bloodstock.
Her horses out here race in Cape Town and among them are the promising Justin Snaith-trained colt Black Cheetah (Querari), who won his first two starts, and the Candice Bass-Robinson-trained three-year-old Rafeef gelding Empire State, who has won three races and finished fifth in the Big Cap.
Fiona won the Gr 2 Peninsula Handicap with the Bass-Robinson-trained Flower Alley gelding Firealley in December 2021.
She is active at the sales and bought the Drakenstein Stud-bred Black Cheetah for R1 million at the Cape Racing Sales Cape Premier Yearling Sale last year. She now owns Black Cheetah in partnership with Drakenstein.
She also bought a The United States filly called Nebulous for R400,000 at that same Sale and this Bass-Robinson-trained two-year-old filly looks full of promise having finished fifth and third in her two respective starts to date.
Fiona also owns three time-winning Harold Crawford and Michelle Rix-trained Captain Of All gelding Elusive Winter among a number of other horses.
However, her success overseas has been meteoric for somebody who has only been involved in racing since 2011 as she has owned he like of Group winners Toronado (Ire), Havana Gold (Ire) and Ivawood (Ire), all of whom are now in the nascent stages of their stud careers.
Her breeding career is now taking off too.
Click here to read about Fiona’s Royal Ascot triumph
Two other South African connected runners on the day were both trained out of Newmarket by former Summerveld trainer Dylan Cunha-trained. His first-timer Come On Eibhlin (Space Blues) was beaten just 4,50 lengths into 9th in the Gr 2 Queen Mary Stakes over five furlongs at odds of 250/1 under Josephine Gordon and later one time winner Kamakameleon ran a 2,25 length fifth in the Listed Windsor Castle Stakes at odds of 80/1 under Tom Marquand.
