Beep Beep Burrow, the new horse that is aiming to raise money and awareness for Rob Burrow’s fight against motor neurone disease, will not make his debut on Tuesday at Doncaster because of a freak accident.
The six-year-old, whose name comes from the Leeds Rhinos nickname Beep Beep, was scheduled to compete in a bumper that had been renamed in his honor.
But trainer Jedd O’Keeffe said: “It’s unbelievably unlucky. We found him this morning lame in his box and found a haematoma between his front legs.
“We got the vet immediately and the vet found that he may have had a pin prick with a foreign body, or it might be as simple as an infected hair follicle. I don’t think I’ve ever had one of those ever, never mind on the morning of a race.”
“I feel so sorry for all the people who have put in so much effort.”
Burrow was scheduled to be in Doncaster with his family to watch Beep Beep Burrow run, whose debut shouldn’t be delayed long.
“It shouldn’t keep him out long at all,” O’Keeffe said. “He may be able to race in ten or 12 days once the medication is out of his system. The good news is that he is okay.”
Phil Hawthorne of The Good Racing Co., which runs Beep Beep Burrow’s racing club, stated: “We got a call from Jedd this morning but fortunately it’s something and nothing, we hope he could be out on January 28 at Doncaster.
“It’s unbelievably frustrating. ITV News were sending a crew, so were the BBC and Sky Sports. We were going to get a fair bit of PR from it.”
Burrow has had motor neurone disease for three years. Last month, at the BBC Sports Personality Of The Year, he received the Helen Rollason award for his efforts to raise awareness of the disease. This award honors outstanding achievement in the face of adversity.
Kevin Sinfield, his former Leeds Rhinos teammate, received a special award in recognition of his enormous fundraising efforts for MND charities.
Along with Burrow Seven, a six-year-old who defied nagging setbacks to finish second in a bumper and third in a novice hurdle from four starts before a further injury forced him into retirement, fellow ex-Rhino Barrie McDermott also helped establish a racing club.
———————————————————–
If you want more free horse racing tips from professional horse racing tipsters, then look no further than our free mailing list.