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Stud To Sponsor Prestigious Ayr Race
10/11/06

ONE of Scotland’s most prestigious horse races, the Firth of Clyde Stakes, has a new sponsor – Laundry Cottage Stud owned by Greenock born Colin Bryce and his wife Melba.

The race, a Group 3, Class 1 contest for two year old fillies, was won this year by Princess Iris and currently carries £50,000 in prize money.

The two year agreement reached between the Ayr Executive and the Laundry Cottage Stud based in Hitchin, Herts will see the prize fund boosted by at least £5000, the increase being jointly funded by the racecourse and the stud.

Colin said: “I regularly come to Ayr and the Western Meeting in particular and with Melba and I having the stud, this race is particularly meaningful to us.

“We had a horse called Ash Moon who was second in the race in 2000 to John Dunlop’s Alshadiyah and fillies can pick up black type in the Firth Of Clyde so it’s a race that is of particular to value to fillies who go on to stud.

“We have several horses in training and at this year’s Western Meeting Krugerrand of which I have a share won the Kilkerran Cup.”

Currently 10 brood mares stand at Laundry Cottage including Gypsy Moth, the dam of recent Leopardstown winner Fly Free, trained by Dermot Weld and a possible Classic runner next year.

Ayr Racecourse Managing Director Richard Johnstone welcomed the new sponsorship and said :”the Firth Of Clyde is a very important race not only to ourselves at Ayr but to the Racing Calendar in general and we are delighted to have an up and coming stud like Laundry Cottage backing us.

“To secure this sponsorship for two years is particularly pleasing and I hope our relationship with Laundry Cottage continues beyond the initial agreement.”

Previous winners of the Firth of Clyde include Henry Candy’s Airwave (2002) and Sir Mark Prescott’s Violette (2005) and in 1976 the race was won by Mofida who became one of Juddmonte’s best ever brood mares.