Soldier of Fortune Mare Gains First Win Over Fences

Useful hurdler Litterale Ci (6m Soldier Of Fortune - Cigalia, by Red Ransom) gained her first win over fences when taking the Best Mate Beginners’ Chase at Exeter on Tuesday.

A four-time winner over hurdles, the Harry Fry-trained mare has also performed well on the flat, having finished third in a valuable staying race at the Galway Festival.

Aidan Coleman rode her to track the leaders, producing a challenge after the second last and led after the final fence. Pushed out, she scored by two lengths and three quarters from the favourite Southfield Stone.

Bred by Madame Francoise Perree, Litterale Ci won two races for her breeder before being purchased privately by JP McManus. Out of a half-sister to Lancashire Oaks third Queen Of Naples, she comes from the family of Derby hero Oath.