Harrovian defies near-death scare
EVERYTHING was picture perfect for the The Harrovian on Saturday afternoon – he looked a million dollars and won like a horse that was just a class above.
But, just two weeks ago, the now champion North Queensland gelding, who will go down in the history books, was on the verge of being scratched from the record-breaking race, with owner Tom Hedley declaring his star stayer was in “big trouble”.
Despite the huge cash bonus on offer, the Hedley and Stephen Massingham team is extra cautious with its gelding after he almost died from travel sickness on the journey to Cairns. With almost $300,000 on the line in the Cairns Amateurs Cup, The Harrovian was struck down with injury just a fortnight ago, suffering a bad stone bruise that had the stable thinking he would need to be sent to the paddock.
“It was a real concern for us, we were all really concerned,” Hedley said.
“We all agree, the horse always comes first.
“I said to them two weeks ago ‘ get him out of the stable and into the paddock’.”
“If we are not going to run him, send him for a spell.”
But, as Hedley put it, the racing gods were smiling on the team, the veterinarian worked around the clock on the horse to get him back to full fitness and on Saturday afternoon in the 2019 Cairns Amateurs Cup, The Harrovian was at the peak of his powers.
“It is unbelievable really,” Hedley said.
To complete the treble, Townsville Cup, Cairns Cup and Amateurs, the six-year-old left the field in his wake to score by four lengths, and it could have been much more if champion rider Robert Thompson wanted to.
The five weeks between the Cairns Cup and Amateurs Cup was a blessing and a curse.
It is tricky to keep a horse tickling along without racing for that long but when disaster did almost strike, it gave the team enough time to work The Harrovian through his issue. “It has been a huge five weeks to get him to the races,” Massingham said.
“We had a couple of setbacks and we had no option but to dig the stone bruise out.”
Cairns Jockey Club president, Hedley, placed The Harrovian in the top four horses he has ever owned, alongside Tyzone, and one who could break into a class of his own over the next few years, alongside Grey Aztec and Louie Bay.
The win on Saturday afternoon snares a back-to-back in the Amateurs Cup for Massingham and Hedley, who claimed the race 12 months ago with Multifacets.