RIP Velvet Dove



Velvet Dove in her heyday

We were very sad to find Velvet Dove dead in the yard this morning - She looked peaceful and hadn't got a scratch on her but oddly she had jumped over two barriers and was in the yard next to her foal. She had never even looked like doing it before. She had been completely relaxed about her weaning, even letting herself out of the yard the day before for a pick of grass. She must have known her time had come and possibly gone to say goodbye... She was always very quirky and did things her own way. She was barely 16hh but managed to win 6 races carrying 12 stone plus and two races she won by a distance. If she didn't fancy the competition she would refuse to race - She couldn't be told but we loved her dearly. Thankfully she had a lovely Christmas day with lots of polos and didn't suffer at all. She has some lovely youngsters coming on, one of which (Smoking Pigeon by Midnight Legend) will be running next weekend at Larkhill for his first run. If he has got anything like his mothers courage and tenacity then he should do really well. Most importantly he comes home safely.
We are off to Cottenham tomorrow to watch some racing without horses - Yippee!