By Mike Dillon
One hour is how close Del Coronado came to a bullet in the brain last April.
At Ellerslie on Saturday, the horse who should either be dead, or at best retired, tore off a remarkable group one victory in the $150,000 Japan Racing Association Classic.
Two vets would have given you their houses on a bet if you had suggested in the middle of last year Del Coronado could win another major race.
The rugged veteran had broken a bone at the bottom of a hind leg, which had calcified and made him hobble on the fetlock joint.
"We had two vets look at him, one said put him down, the other said there was a 20 per cent chance he'd race again," said part-owner Peter Walker after Del Coronado shocked everyone, including co-trainer Colin Jillings, with his weight-for-age win.
Del Coronado's leg did not improve with time.
"He was hobbling around his paddock - he looked pathetic.
"We thought about giving him away, then we thought, well, you can't give someone a horse in that condition."
Walker races Del Coronado with Auckland Racing Club president Barry Neville-White.
The pair figured the only solution was to have the horse put down and rang Ellerslie Clerk Of The Course Ross Coles and offered him Del Coronado as food for his hounds.
"That was on the weekend and Ross had agreed to pick him up on the Monday," said Walker.
"The truck arrived on the Monday morning, but Colin (Jillings) had been down to Del Coronado's paddock and the horse had been kicking and bucking.
"He said: "I reckon we can get this horse right."
"So Ross went home with an empty truck."
Jillings confirmed the story.
"I said: `No way are they getting this horse - look at him, he's charging around his paddock.'"
And they say horses are dumb.
Saving Del Coronado to race again was remarkable, him winning the $100,000 Queen Elizabeth Handicap at Ellerslie on Boxing Day was unbelievable, winning the group one $150,000 JRA Classic defies description.
No one thought he could. And that included Colin Jillings.
Jillings was lunching with a group on Saturday, pooling money to take trifectas.
He argued to have Del Coronado left out of the trifecta combinations for the big race and was fortunately overruled, but got his way when he insisted the horse be deleted from the Pick Six combinations.
"How could you see him winning," said Jillings later, sentiments echoed by Neville-White, whose great wish was to win the race while hosting his Japanese guests, but whose wildest dreams did not include such fantasy.
Del Coronado had even been entered for the Thames Cup today, a race he clearly will not see now.
"I don't blame the vets for their diagnosis last year," Walker said on Saturday.
"The nature of their work means they have to have a very clinical approach, whereas trainers usually work from a much more emotional level.
"It just shows you how you should always listen to the opinions of good horsemen.
"What a dream result. The only ones who missed out were the hounds. They missed a very expensive meal."
Pictured: Del Coronado at Ellerslie. HERALD PICTURE / BRETT PHIBBS
Horse Racing: Del Coronado back from the dead
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.