Wilgerbosdrift’s promising young sire Fire Away came up with a tenth winner from his first crop when his two-year-old son Down By The River won at Hollywoodbets Scottsville on Sunday. Trained by Peter Muscutt, Down By The River had finished third last time out, and he duly built on that effort with a striking performance on Sunday.
Under Calvin Habib, Down By The River went out to make the running in Sunday’s D and K Plumbing and Aluminium Gutters Juvenile Plate (1600m) and proved far too strong for his rivals, with the Fire Away gelding romping home to win as he liked by over four lengths.
Down By The River, who was trying the 1600m trip for the first time out Sunday, clearly relished the step up in trip while making the fourth start of his career.
Bred by Wilgerbosdrift & Mauritzfontein, Down By The River is out of the Western Winter mare Oh My Darling.
The son of Fire Away was an R120 000 buy from the 2022 Cape Yearling Sale.
Down By The River joins an ever-growing list of winners for his G3 Dixie Stakes winning sire, with Fire Away’s other first-crop winners including Listed East Cape Filllies Nursery/Listed Dahlia Plate/Listed Lady’s Slipper Stakes queen Luna Halo, Listed Storm Bird Stakes runner up Fire ‘N Flames, and G2 Zulu Kingdom Explorer Golden Slipper third place finisher Egyptian Mau.
Fire Away is also the sire of promising filly Duenna, who recently romped home to break her maiden by more than six lengths, when winning a good race at Turffontein.