Early days yet for our latest syndicate horse Romeo Brown and members, but whilst I cant speak for the horse, myself and members present at Doncaster on Feb 20th were cautiously optimistic of a good run from our 5yo gelding following an encouraging start for us at Sedgefield the previous month.
Our optimism and expectations however were short lived, as Romeo ran no sort of race, prompting comments such as,
“he wasn`t the same horse I rode at Sedgefield” from jockey Sean Quinlan
“I never expected that” from yours truly and others.
But the most telling comment came from our honourable lady member from Sheffield.
“Hes come back into the unsaddling enclosure awash with sweat, and looking as if he`s just run FOUR MILES”……….which indeed was very true, and proof enough for me that the race had been an over exertion for him and that something was amiss on the day.
A phone call from the yard the following morning did not offer any clue or inkling as to something having been amiss, because Romeo had eaten up and was “absolutely fine.”
Phil Kirby was also as perplexed as we were, so between us, he and I agreed…with apologies to William Shakespeare… the most likely cause of Romeos moderate performance on the Doncaster stage, was a reaction to the equine flu jab booster which he`d had a few days earlier, and according to BHA rules, was necessary before he could race again.
But, whilst logic points towards the jab being the cause, we won`t be able to write off the Doncaster race until we get the REAL Romeo Brown in action again ….in approximately 2 / 3 weeks time acc to PK.
