Apache Boom scores happy home for life
HORSE racing thrives on colourful yarns and fairytale wins.
Australia’s wonder mare Winx is set to again make international headlines today when she chases a 30th successive career victory.
What you don’t always hear are the good news stories that happen in the racing industry on a daily basis.
Stories like the journey of ex-race horse Apache Boom.
The five-year-old gelding never hit the race track highs but he’ll always be a champion in the eyes of jockey Skye Bogenhuber.
RACING: In between the fairytale wins or success stories like wonder mare Winx, the horse racing industry cops its share of negative publicity — unfairly or otherwise.
What we don’t often hear are the good news stories happening each day behind the scenes which go unwritten.
Stories like the journey of ex-race horse Apache Boom (now known as “Thunder”).
Apache Boom didn’t win a Cox Plate or Melbourne Cup.
But the five-year-old gelding scored something just as good — a happy home for life.
Apache Boom is the first horse bred and sold through the ring by Toowoomba jockey Skye Bogenhuber.
After a brief racing career in Brisbane, Apache Boom late last year found his way to a general horse sale at Echuca in Victoria
But after some eagle-eye work from former Toowoomba jockey Amy Taylor, Apache Boom is now back in Bogenhuber’s care after a chain of fateful events.
Taylor, who now helps rehouse ex-race horses through her business International Thoroughbred Retirement, alerted her former colleague to Apache Boom’s sale predicament and Bogenhuber straight away jumped into action.
“I was pretty stressed out about it after Amy let me know he was going through the sale,” Bogenhuber said.
“I couldn’t be sure what his future was from there or what might happen to him. He could have been in danger.”
Bogenhuber was riding at Ipswich on the day of the sale but arranged for a friend to purchase him on her behalf, with happy results for horse and owner.
“My friend said she’d bid on the horse at the auction and you wouldn’t believe I was just going past the post on Michael Nolan’s horse Archer’s Treasure as it won the race,” Bogenhuber said.
“It’s just like it’s meant to be. It was pretty cool. I was more excited about getting him back than winning the race.
“It ended up I had to pay $2500 to get him back.
“A lot of girls were bidding on him to get him as a show horse or whatever because he’s very pretty.
“He would have gone to a decent home but he’s very special to me being the first foal from my mare (Temple Girl).
“I just wanted him back home. I knew he’d be safe forever with me. “I won’t do a lot with him. “I’ve ridden him already. “I might take him to the Ekka in the lead class or something. I might do things like that.”
Bogenhuber said horse welfare was a priority for the vast majority of racing industry members.
“There’s a lot of horses like this in the racing industry that people don’t see as much,” Bogenhuber said.
“They only see the bad stuff. “It’s really good all participants in the racing industry keep an eye on horses like this.
“From the start he went to Gollan’s (Tony) as a race horse. When he retired they did him up really well for a good home.
“Some times they fall through the cracks but Thunder’s ended up in a good place.”
‘‘ I JUST WANTED HIM BACK HOME. I KNEW HE’D BE SAFE FOREVER WITH ME. SKYE BOGENHUBER