Sand 'The Revival' Repeal

It is with great sadness that I report the retirement of Sand Repeal.

This may be the first time you've ever heard of him, or maybe you're an avid fan of the beast, but, to me, he was a great, a horse that touched my heart.

At times though, he could seem a yak, most notably when he would occasionally nip you and produce a bruise or when he would try and barge out his stable door.

Inside though was a heart of gold.

His story began in Ireland, in 2002, when a small stud owner called Donald Cummings decided to breed Columbian Sand with Revoque - a pretty unspectacular cross, one which was unlikely to lead to a high price at the sales.

So it was not surprising that he skipped the sales and went straight to Harraton Stables, base of trainer Julia Feilden.

From here he remained. A big gangly yearling, he was castrated early to keep his mind on the job.

As a two year-old he surprised many (as he was to do in the future) by being placed twice from three runs but he was always going to be a better three year-old.

And so, loaded with a rating of 73 (the highest he would ever reach) Sand Repeal raced around the courses of the United Kingdom from Ascot to Yarmouth.

It was the winter 2006 however that he really started to make a mark. Three wins during that period kept us all warm although they were split with two defeats behind a 66 rated Young Mick (not bad form in hindsight).

Little did we know it would be another 14 months before he won another race, interspersed with one attempt over hurdles where he duly unseated his rider at the first.

During this time, I had just observed, riding him occasionally and regarding as nothing more than one in the yard.

As time went on and I started riding in amateur races, our link developed. I rode him at Wolverhampton, finished 4th and hoped I'd never ride him again because he was such hard work.

Luckily, things didn't turn out as I hoped. We went to Windsor and on the back of a few placed efforts, he started at odds of 13/2. It was a venture into the unknown on this day - he was racing over 1m4f for the first time in well over two years. I knew one thing - he stayed, so I kicked him on four out and we never saw another horse. Chuffed, I obviously was.

What came next though, no-one expected.

To Chester, three weeks later and we're still not greatly fancied at 15/2 despite our obvious good rapport. 1m4f again, so what do we do? Kick on. It wasn't so easy this time, Sand Repeal had to dig deep and dig deep he did. We won by a head.

From these days, he became a favourite. Renamed Sand 'Revival' due to his recent resurgence in form, he obtained a slight cult following amongst the villagers of Exning and university students alike.

Between then and yesterday, not much had changed; he raced, ate and went out in the field to fight the ponies.

But after 63 runs, 7 wins, 21 places and £33,000 earned in prize money, it all caught up with him. He suffered a tear in his tendon when racing at Brighton. Not life threatening, but enough to end his racing career.

His future is safe, a good home for life is certain but he will be missed by all at Julia Feilden racing, most notably by me.

He was a pet and, as much as an animal can be, a mate.