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HEROS Help for Ex-Racehorses

Racing fans are happy to know that huge strides have been made in the last few years in the care and re-training of racehorses once their primary career is over. Re-training of Racehorses (ROR), the umbrella organisation set up by Brigadier Andrew Parker-Bowles, and recently generously endowed by Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum partly from his sale of the title 'The Racing Post', gives an overview of all the work being done in this area:  www.ror.org.uk

Of the bigger rescue organisations, Greatwood, Moorcroft, TRC, and HEROS, it's the latter - set up the most recently by Grace Muir - which is forging ahead in the number of horses helped to a new career. We were privileged to be given a private tour in July. To see the photos from our visit, please click here.

HEROS is based at North Farm Stud between Wantage and Lambourn, which is owned by Grace's parents. The family is steeped in racing: brother Willie trains in Lambourn, and Grace herself trained both under Rules and Point-to-Pointers before her charity work took over. One of her main former owners Malcolm Denmark is a Patron of HEROS, and gifted her the legendary Monsignor as the Charity's equine 'ambassador'.
 
The family stud supports HEROS but the charity pays for all its own costs of food and stabling: there is much interaction however, since the stud also offers horse care for injured or resting racers - many of them Denmark's - and the attached farm provides forage and straw.
 
Grace had re-homed approximately 350 horses before HEROS was formally established, and the charity re-homed 97 horses in 2007. So far this year it has re-homed over 60 almost all thoroughbred ex-racers. Its newest arrival is the popular Vortex, recently retired from Gay Kelleway's yard. Grace seems to have a genius for matching riders to horses: prospective owners are monitored as closely as the incoming horses, and great care taken to find an enduring partnership. If anything goes wrong or a horse is injured in its new career, it will return to HEROS, occasionally for good. Most pairings however are successful and fulfilling for both horse and new owner, and Grace provides excellent support to help this 
 
HEROS Club members provide funds to keep the permanent inhabitants who will spend the rest of their lives on the stud as they need constant monitoring or remedial attention.  

Currently these are: Assembly Dancer aged 21: formerly trained by Dai Williams, on retirement 'Murphy' was for many years Grace's hack; his inseparable companion 22yr old Rapporteur who won 19 races on turf at Lingfield and was placed 20 times from 84 races, trained by CC Elsey);  Zucchero 12, who won the Lincoln for David Arbuthnot and was 2nd in the Diamond Stakes at Royal Ascot, the top race for Lady Amateurs, ridden by David's wife Di (who now helps run Re-training of Racehorses); his devoted companion Good Samaritan 13 whose career with Mark Pitman was cut short by a bad fetlock injury; Nomadic Star 13, recovering in a cast from a severe tendon injury, who ran for Mrs F Brown; and Old Rouvel 17, winner of 7 races when trained by Alan King.

HEROS is increasingly involved in fundraising events which also raise awareness of their work. These have recently involved a race day at Hereford, and a series of Horse Shows with classes for ex-racers - we attended the one at Newbury Showground in July. To see our pictures, please click here. The next will be a sponsored Charity Race Night at Bath on Saturday 30 August. Please attend if possible, or consider supporting the charity's great work!
 

For more information please visit:

HEROS homepage: www.heroscharity.org/index.htm

HEROS Club: www.heroscharity.org/heros_club.htm

How to donate online: www.justgiving.com/HEROS
 
By Sara Waterson
http://www.eclipsemagazine.co.uk/magazine/twoforoneatwincantonssaturdayracesinjanuary2010.html