"LEON OG: what might have been"

So we were off and running and firmly hoped that horse number 2 (to be henceforth known as Leon Og) would find it within him to do the same. Bought for around the same amount of magic beans as Trotsky, Leon Og took his time getting into character. Dessie was very happy with the breeding of Leon Og (see the Family Tree section below). From a winning family his father (Oscar), while not the most monogamous of individuals, had established himself as one of the most successful stallions of his era in the breeding shed. Leon Og was certainly an athletic individual and so hopes were high that he would translate such pleasant aesthetics to the racecourse. 

Sport is gloriously unpredictable however and so a rather subdued debut at Fairyhouse on New Years Day 2009 over hurdles saw Leon Og trail in over 122 lengths behind the winner! His next run however, while on face value not hugely different (a well beaten 11th) was notable for how he dealt with his last 3 hurdles. Impressive late progress signalled a penny dropping, the evidence of which would become clear less than a month later. 

Again these initial couple of runs taught us all the value of patience and looking at the bigger picture. Some horses pick things up quicker than others but all benefit from sympathetic and considered handling. This is something the Horsplay Syndicate has been fortunate to have gained by the feeding trough from Messrs Hughes & Crawford through the years and we should always keep in mind through the good times and the not so good times!

Thankfully, after the afore mentioned modest couple of openers, our athletic son of Oscar began to show distinct signs of ability and he scored at the third time of asking over hurdles at Kilbeggan. (A racecourse in the Irish Midlands which was rapidly becoming the Horsplay Syndicate's second home and which also happened to have a certain DT Hughes as the top of its Annual Trainer Standings for a number of years)..... 

Finding his rhythm during the race and never too far off the leader, Leon Og moved smoothly though the field so that by the time we reached 2 flights from home, our boy was now in front under a patient Roger Loughran ride and never saw another rival. The eventual winning margin was a tidy 6 lengths and while we'd be sent to the naughty step if we all didn't confess that this was a little bit of a shock win (@ 16/1), the victory nevertheless confirmed what Des had said all along; that we had a nice, genuine horse who would do nothing but improve the more he grew (Leon Og not Dessie, I should add). 

With that prophesy safely tucked away in the drawer beside the bookcase, Leon Og performed with merit in a couple more highly rated hurdle races, the winners of which would go on to win at the Cheltenham Festival no less. Anything achieved over hurdles was always going to be a bonus however as soon as Leon Og had taken off his saddle cloth he was away on his holidays back at Auntie Susan's. A summer's grass and TLC saw the boy blossom and off we went chasing  more success over fences!

And so with that Leon Og was off to the bigger obstacles and if truth be told (and scout's honour* you won't find any 'fake news' on this website), he initially took to fences like a duck takes to...fences.....

Being brought down and tailed off in his first 2 outings seemed to mirror Leon Og's start over hurdles and so run number 3 was again something of a (pleasant surprise), when he ran on strongly to chase home 2 decent horses over 2m6f at Thurles.

Cause for optimism yes, but even the most starry eyed among us couldn't have foreseen Leon's next outing (described via a humble poem below) resulting in him demolishing a crack field of novice chasers by an eased down 10 lengths.

Very sadly though the weather and then fate intervened and when next fully tuned up for the 2011 Leinster National at Naas, Leon Og  struck into himself while jumping the 3rd Fence causing what ultimately proved to be a fatal injury.

Given the Horsplay Syndicate pays to see our horses run, there is often a paradox of wanting them to win but 'come home safely'. On this occasion our own horse did neither and we certainly took time to reflect on feelings created by this. However as always shines through with all our experiences throughout the years, thoroughbreds are bred to run and are treated with the utmost respect and care by all those involved with them.  A very sad end to a very promising career for Leon Og and we remember him fondly to this day.