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Letter of the Week

Unforgettable

Congratulations to Keith Kraatzmann on his wonderful letter (9/1) relating to our greatest Australian racehorse, Bernborough.
Keith, I totally concur with everything you say. And like you I followed him through his winning run from 1945 to 1946. As a schoolgirl I had a scrabook dedicated to him that somehow I lost when I moved away from Melbourne.
My hear broke the day he broke his leg, and it the time it was touch and go as to whether they could save him. I believe it was because he was an entire that so much effort and expense was spent to save him (thank goodness).
I have in my home that great picture of Bernborough (the same one as in the Bernborough bar at Flemington) and I do so treasure it.
I wrote a poem about him and sent it to the VRC leading up to the 50th anniversary of his accident, asking if they could acknowledge him on Mackinnon Stakes day.
The VRC gave me and my daughter a most memorable day at Flemington on the last day of the 1996 spring carnival.
We were chaperoned all over the course, including the inner sanctums, had our photo taken patting Subzero and got photos of the farewell to Saintly, who was on his way to the Japan Cup but, as we know, never made it.
It was a day in my life that was all about Bernborough and a day I’ll never forget.
In my mind Athol Mulley robbed him of the Caulfield Cup. I had ridden my bike from Ashburton (7.2km away) and put it up against the fence at the turn into the straight.
It was cruel to see how this champion was denied a run by his jockey — I could hear the jockeys as they tried to let him out — but I guess that’s racing.

Wendy Walsh
Mansfield (Vic)
Today's Racing
Friday 29 March
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