Sad to report that after many months of patience and TLC, Romeo went to Haydock on Wednesday 20th March to qualify for a place in the final of the £30,000 Cab on Target series at Kelso on Saturday 6th April.
Sadly, after being pulled up during the race, it became evident he was lame, and further examination confirmed he had suffered a stress fracture of his near side back leg.
All of our loyal Romeo members, the two Johns, Carol, Mark, Russell and myself are completely gutted at the thought of having to decide whether we should continue for a further 10 to 12 months to get our horse fit enough to race yet again, or, as a ten year old, we should call time on his racing career and try to find a home for his recovery and retirement.
What a sad coincidence that we are considering retirement for Romeo, just a few days after his jockey, Thomas Willmott, who rode Romeo in all his three major successes, thus boosting his own career, decided, on medical advice, to retire also, after a long battle in vain to recover from serious injuries after a heavy fall.
We all love National Hunt Racing, but it can`t half be a cruel sport at times.
Richard
