From something sad comes ...

Boo next to the awesome 'Desert Orchid' statue

Happiness & pride, slowly ...

Today, Mr Boo, Boo, my sister & I all went to Kempton to watch a very special horse run.
The horse? Fenix.
Why so special ? He belonged to Mr Boo's late brother whom we tragically lost before Christmas.
It was his first run since we lost Jonny and his first run in over 800 days after a very bad injury. Mr Boo has taken over the mantle on behalf of his brother so today was our first adventure as racehorse owners.

I've loved horses all my life, I've loved racing since the age of 13, it is my passion. Nothing evokes more emotion than seeing a horse run his heart out. These beautiful creatures are a sight to behold in full flow ...

It was a very, very tall order but we were hopeful of a good run as he was very fit and crying out for a run.

Mr Boo & I in the paddock after saying bye bye to Fenix before the Off ...

We waited in the saddling enclosure to meet his trainer Lucy Wadham from Newmarket. No horse. No trainer. What had happened ? had he thrown a shoe ? become ill ? refused to come out his box? We didn't know. Mr Boo & I walked back to the paddock thinking "Did we miss him somehow?" Nope he wasn't there ... No declared Non Runners so we ran back to the saddling boxes.

Phew ! we spotted Lucy's bright blue scarf waving about. He was there, safe and ready. And he looked amazing. Fit and bouncing.

Fenix finally in the paddock

His race was the Lanzarote Hurdle, a very good Class 2 race, 2 miles 5 furlongs in Heavy ground. Fenix likes it soft but the ground today was pretty desperate. It was going to be tough for all the horses.

In a nutshell, Fenix did not win, he didn't even finish the race. Pulled up 3 hurdles from home. Safe and at no risk of a tired fall.
He was way to keen and pulled like a train having led or been 2nd for a very long way. He was enjoying himself, having a ball and just wanted to fly. The poor jockey's arms are now twice as long as they were before the race but the opinion was that Fenix ran a very very good race, jumped well but was way too keen. Just got puffed out from all that pulling and fighting his jockey.

Imagine a child being cooped up in a classroom for a month and not being allowed out to play. That was Fenix today.

We met him after the race and he had a huge smile on his face, in fact I am sure he winked at me, as if to say "I bloody well enjoyed that, but I'm a bit pooped now if you don't mind".
Even though you knew he had had a race, his ears were still pricked and he just looked happy.

I hope Jonny was sat up there on his cloud, fag in hand, watching with pride as his little brother & horse mad sister-in-law represented him. There will be many more days of racing and many more clouds a watching ...