Owner of the Month - October 2006

How did you come to buy Lucky Luk?
We had another horse in training with Kim, Mohawk Brave and decided that we should have two horses in training, as we thought that if something went wrong with one then at least we had another one to keep going with. Unfortunately this proved to be the case as Mohawk Brave broke a leg at Huntingdon where we had previously lost another horse, Carraignamon, who slipped up on the bend. We were so sad as Carraignamon was a nice horse, I felt he was like George Best, quick on his feet and Mohawk Brave was closely related to Dawn Run.

So I went to the Doncaster Sales in 2002 with Kim and there were two French horses that caught our eye. Kim liked one but there was something about the other one which I preferred so we went for him and ended up bidding against Jonjo O’Neill and bought him for 28,000 guineas. We were hoping things would just work out with this one.

How did his early career progress? He was broken in by Liam (‘Higgs’) but he didn’t get off to a great start as he was really quite sick with flu after his first Bumper race at Newbury. Then when he recovered from that, we always felt he’d run better than he did. At Uttoxeter he seemed to be making a few gurgling noises and at Warwick he stopped dead like he was shot after a couple of miles. We knew he didn’t like soft ground and initially JP just felt perhaps he was young and weak. However, we did think perhaps there was another problem.

How was the throat problem diagnosed?
Kim decided to take him to Huntingdon racecourse to school him round over two miles while Peter Green (Kim’s vet) and another vet watched on. They listened to him immediately afterwards and said straight away that yes he had a problem in his throat. It was then a question of deciding whether he was good enough to make an operation worthwhile. So we went to Fontwell Park to find out.

It was a warm day and the ground was drying which was in his favour. It was his first Chase, he jumped well and he finished a pretty close 4th and that was it, we decided then that he should have the operation.

What happened after the operation?
Well it was carried out by the famous Professor Geoffrey Lane at Bristol last summer and he then had three months off before his first run back at Towcester. Jimmy McCarthy took the ride as JP couldn’t do the weight and he was really embarrassed when he had to pull him up. He said that the horse just wasn’t right. He was bleeding slightly from the nose and we just thought ‘yet another problem’ but thankfully it was nothing too serious, just a minor complication following the throat operation.

So, did the dramas end there then?! Well the operation certainly seemed to have done the trick with his breathing but it was still proving difficult to find the right distance and the right type of track for him last season. He really couldn’t cope with ground that had any ‘soft’ in the going description and his style of running meant he really needed longer distances to get into a good rhythm. Finally towards the end of last season, he really showed what he could do over longer distances on good to firm ground with two good seconds at Warwick and Fontwell where the horses behind were strung out all over the shop although in fact it did turn out to be slightly too firm and he ended up slightly jarred, so that put off any plans to run him over the summer!!

How hopeful were you at the start of this season?
We knew he was a difficult horse to place but we also knew he needed a testing distance over a stiff track on good ground but not too firm. The conditions seemed right at Towcester and we were confident he could jump so when we saw him going like a train and winning by so far we were thrilled.

What was it like to have your first win with Lucky Luk?
It was very special. We’ve had so many phone calls and the little grandchildren are very excited and have been telling all their friends, especially Emma who was with us at Towcester. We’re so pleased he was the first winner from Kim’s new yard after the setbacks we’ve had. We’re also pleased for Jimmy (McCarthy) who is so unflappable and experienced and we hope the link with Kim will be good for him as well which will be nice.

What are your hopes for the future?
We’re slightly in the hands of the handicapper who I’m sure will have lots of fun deciding how much to put him up but there is nothing we can do there, we’ll just have to wait and see. Looking at the way he went up the hill at Towcester we would be very interested to see how he would cope with the track at Cheltenham. It’s just a question of whether we can end up with a handicap mark which qualifies us for a race there. It would be very exciting but we can’t think too far ahead!

There has been lots of waiting around with the various problems – the flu, throat problem, too soft ground – but now we feel that this season he really has turned into a man and fingers crossed, if we can find some good ground and the right races we will have a good season.

How would you sum up your experience with Lucky Luk?
Obviously there have been problems with the horse but even without these, I doubt he’d have done much. He’s only seven now and he simply wasn’t ready when he was younger so we’ve had to take it quietly and not rush things. We absolutely adore him. He’s Liam’s baby and I think we all love him because he’s a bit of cheeky monkey and he has character. We are so thrilled he has won.

PREVIOUS OWNERS OF THE MONTH:

September 2006 - Mark Vestey