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Headstrong mare Come Fly With Me has been a work in progress for Stephen Blair-Edie, but his patience continues to be rewarded along a path to one of the country’s premier distance events.
The Riverton six-year-old has won two of her last three starts and she has an ideal opportunity to add to her record on Sunday when she steps out in the AON Insurance Brokers Winton Cup.
Co-trainer Blair-Edie also bred and races the daughter of St Reims and the multiple winner Fly The Coop.“She’s been a very difficult horse and she still can be. She has to be blind-folded to go in the gates and she can dig her toes in a bit,” he said.
“She’s 17 hands so she’s a big mare and you don’t lead her – she leads you. She can be pretty flighty.“A while ago we had a huge offer from Melbourne for her, but she was born just behind our house and it’s not always about the money and you develop a loyalty to a horse.”
Come Fly With Me was a regular ride of the champion jockey Lisa Allpress before her departure to Japan and Robert Hannam stepped in to guide her to a last-start victory at Gore.“I rang Robbie, who had never ridden for me before, and he was happy to commit to her,” Blair-Edie said.
Hannam will take the reins at Winton and in the Gr.3 Christchurch Casino New Zealand Cup at Riccarton on November 12.“It’s difficult because we’re 625km away from Riccarton, but I’ll be keeping her around her and just run in the cup and not the Metropolitan as well,” Blair-Edie said.
Being by a Group One-winning son of the mighty Zabeel, he is confident she can master the 3200 metres of the cup.“She’s thrown to Zabeel and a lot of his good stayers don’t come right until they are five and six-year-olds,” Blair-Edie said.