David Abery and Pippa Mickelburgh with October Storm, who fetched R2.8 million at last week’s BSA National Yearling Sale (Picture Supplied)
David Abery made the bold decision to keep Var mare Miss October for breeding and it is now paying handsome dividends.
Avontuur Thoroughbred Farm manager Pippa Mickelburgh explained, “David raced Miss October with a whole goup of friends. a whole bunch of people, and they did not want to breed. So he phoned me up and we bought the partners out. She is the first broodmare he has ever owned!”
Miss October was very quick, despite her second dam being July winner Devon Air, and she didn’t stay beyond 1000m.
A full sister to Gr 1 Mercury Sprint winner August Rush, she was trained by Neil Bruss to win two of her first three starts, she then moved to Dennis Drier for whom she won first time out and she later moved to Geoff Woodruff, probably to take advantage of the fast sprint tracks of the Highveld, and for him she won two races including the Gr 3 Tommy Hotspur Handicap.
All five of her wins were over 1000m.
Her first foal by Oratorio was unraced.
Her first runner, the Trippi filly Spring Break, won first time out over 1200m and ended up with four wins from 1000m to 1200m. She was runner up in the Gr 2 Umkhomazi Stakes over 1200m and in the Listed Milkwood Stakes over 1000m.
Her next foal was by Master of My Fate and this colt was bought by Dennis Drier at the Cape Premier Yearling Sale (CPYS) for R550,000. He was named Tempting Fate and went on to win the Gr 1 Gold Medallion over 1200m at Hollywoodbets Scottsville, having earlier won the Gr 3 Godolphin Barb Stakes.
At the 2020 Cape Premier Yearling sale Miss October’s Futura colt called Spielberg sold for R150,000 and went on to win twice.
With Tempting Fate serving as a good advertisement, her next foal, a filly by Silvano, went for R1.1 million.
This filly called October Fair, trained by Sean Tarry, has had 14 starts and has won twice, over 1400m and 1600m respectively.
Miss October’s next foal was by Trippi and this filly called October Morn was kept by Avontuur and Abery and raced with Candice Bass-Robinson.
She has already won four times in just eleven starts, including the Listed Perfect Promise Sprint over 1200m and the Gr 2 Cartier Sceptre Stakes over 1200m.
Avontuur and the offspring of Var have an unbelievable record at the Hollywoodbets Scottsville Festival Of Speed meeting and Var mare Miss October will be out to have a second Gr 1 winner there, following Tempting Fate, as it is likely October Morn will be aimed at the Gr 1 SA Fillies Sprint on June 1.
Miss October’s next foal was a filly by Master Of My Fate and she fetched R900,000 at the National Yearling Sale.
David Abery has kept a share in this filly called October Fest in partnership with Marsh Shirtliff and B Riley and she is being trained by Bass-Robinson.
Miss October’s next foal was a colt by boom sire Vercingetorix and with October Morn now being a good advert he fetched a whopping R2.8 million at the BSA National Yearling Sale last week, purchased by Brett Crawford.
“She has been a wonderful mare and has made us a lot of money … we must look after her and give her an extra scoop of oats tonight!” chortled Pippa.
She continued, “David owns a part of her and we own the other part and we breed with her together. She lives with us here at Avontuur.”
She added, “She has a weanling foal by Rafeef, a colt, and she’s back in foal to Vercingetorix.”
David and Pippa are obviously fans of Vercingetorix and Pippa hoped his next big Gr 1 winner was just around the corner.
Vercingetorix averaged R1,161,029 at the Nationals, which shows he is good value even at R220,000 for a cover (R50,000 nom, R170,000 live foal).
Pippa does not envisage his fee going up and assumes she will go back to him again.
She said, “The temptation is to go to Gimmethegreenlight, but physically I don’t know whether it is the right thing for Miss October.”
She added, “Charles Dickens is also tempting, because of the Trippi connection, but the internationals interested in South African racing don’t buy unproven stallions, so I think a mare of her calibre will need to go to a proven sire. I think it would be nice to go to Charles Dickens once and I think it will work, but I think we must stick to what we know they will like, so I assume she will go back to Vercingetorix.”
R2.8 million is not the highest price yearling ever vendored by Avontuur.
At a Cape Thoroughbred Racing Sale at Emperor’s Palace in 2016 they had the three highest lots, all of them going for R3 million or more, including Mardi Gras (Oratorio) for R3.2 million, another Oratorio called Graduate for the same price and Var colt Talk Of The Town, who now stands at Avontuur, for R3 million.
However, it is exciting times for David Abery and Avontuur with Miss October going strong at stud and October Morn going strong on the racetrack. October Morn also looks likely to have a lucrative stud career ahead of her.
Abery had the courage of his convictions and is now reaping the dividends in no uncertain terms.
