Well-Bred Soldier Of Fortune Filly Wins Bumper Impressively

Coquelicot (4f Soldier Of Fortune - Moscow Nights, by Peintre Celebre) built on two promising performances to justify favoritism in the mares’ bumper at Taunton on Saturday.

Second on both her previous starts over shorter distances, she faced 13 rivals on her step up to two miles and half a furlong. She tracked the leaders under Rex Dingle, asserting three furlongs from home and soon went clear. Never challenged, she won by five and a half lengths on the line.

Trained by Anthony Honeyball, who bought her as a yearling at Arqana, Coquelicot was bred by Madame I Corbani, A Waugh and T Waugh. She is a half-sister to Tony Martin’s ill-fated but talented dual-purpose performer Heartbreak City, who won the Ebor Handicap and went on to finish a close second in the Melbourne Cup.

Soldier Of Fortune commands €8,000 at the Beeches Stud in 2020.