Saying goodbye to Boris

Hi, (reposted from my blog)

In the last few weeks we have taken the decision to retire Project Mars (Boris) from racing, having had a difficult season and losing his form, it has been decided to give him a happy retirement and an opportunity to have a life away from the sport.

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Boris started this season rated 100, and ran good races at Stratford on debut and then at Market Rasen before visiting his beloved Huntingdon on the 10th November. He managed to win that race in a photograph finish, and at that point he looked to be a mildly progressive horse who had won two races from his starts for the syndicate and hadn't run out of the money in all attempts.

That race gave the syndicate a great thrill, despite us unable to go to the races due to the pandemic. I remember vividly the Whatsapp conversation post race with a video from Sally from the course. It was brilliant to see his win, but also very sad to be away from the course.

The emotion of the win at the same course the season before will be one of the overriding images from our time with Boris as the syndicate horse. This time it was very different!!

He then ran another good race at Huntingdon on the 22nd December, when we were able to attend the meeting, having run very well until the last hurdle and then finishing a not too distant 5th. At this point we were all looking forward to a good 2021.

Then we had the massive frustrations of racing, every meeting we had Boris entered in was called off, either frozen ground or flooding. It took until the 22nd March to see him back out, and that time between races is one of the reasons I feel that his form went away.

He returned to the track with poor runs at Wincanton and Southwell, before falling at Market Rasen on what would be his last run for the syndicate. The fall was a horrible moment, but he was non the worse for it, and we had planned to run him again.

Things haven't gone to plan since that race, and with the summer ground starting to firm up (prior to Royal Ascot!) it was only fair to retire him and let him have another career.

Boris is a lovely horse and he has been given the opportunity to go to a new owner, he was quickly viewed by his new owner and has from all accounts started his new career/life in great manner.

He means a lot to us, he has been a big part of the last two years of the life of my young son, who absolutely adores going up to Ravenswell and seeing Boris (along with his real favourite - Silver Hallmark). However the sense of pride in what the yard do for horses retiring, and the opportunity we have had to give Boris a career/retirement that he deserves (he wasn't exactly Sprinter Sacre as a racehorse!)

When folk make comments about how ruthless the sport is, and how horses aren't cared for, you just see the pride, passion and love for horses that Sally, Fergal and the whole yard have for horses it makes the whole experience of ownership and the sadness of retirement much better.

As a syndicate we are very lucky to have wonderful folk involved, we enjoy going racing, sharing the experiences of racing and visiting the yard. The experience of meeting people that you now regard as friends is something that I wasn't expecting (being a grumpy northerner).

The syndicate and the experience with Fergals yard is much more than just a financial interest (or burden if you are a realist!), it has been great socially, educationally, and even comically. The whole experience has given us some wonderful days, superb memories and most importantly something to look forward to during many dark days of the pandemic.

What next? Well lets see what Sally finds for the syndicate!!!

 

thanks Oddy.

He’s not too far away, couple of hours but it’s a part of the country we seldom venture to. So if a need arises we might see if we can pop in.

 

Very nice words Nass, and obvious that the horse meant a lot to you and the rest of you in the group. I'm sure that he will have a good time away from the track and that you'll be reminiscing over a shandy or three of the races he won and times you had with him...

Wish you well on your next adventure...

 

Thank you very much for sharing your heartfelt thoughts with us. Wish you and the syndicate another nice horse for the sport in the near future.

 

It is great that caring people like you, Nass, take part in owning racehorses. I do hope you are able to see Boris in retirement now and again. Good luck too with any horse you may have an interest in, in the future.

 

Nice words above with which I heartedly agree

 

Thanks all. Fingers crossed for a long retirement for him and another winner for the syndicate with the next horse!

 

I hope he enjoys his new career

 

For one joyous moment I actually thought the PM was no more!