Sprinter for the ages who provided perfect tonic after tragic loss
| Published date | 07 July 2021 |
| Date | 07 July 2021 |
Now, he was receiving news that the same horse had died due to an incurable bout of colic. It was a hammer blow, one which Tingey concedes still affects him to this day.
"He maybe could have gone on to be a stallion, like so many of the horses he ran against," Tingey says. It was a very difficult time after he died, if I'd have had my way I would have walked away from the sport then."
"It felt like we'd been kicked in the teeth by the sport and I just didn't want to do it anymore."
Tingey was talked out of the decision by his long-time partner Angie Bailey as well as Astaire's trainer Kevin Ryan, both of whom knew there was another horse ready to step
into the void left by Astaire - Brando.
Now nearly six years after that fork-in-the-road moment, the son of Pivotal has won nine races, including the Group 1 Prix Maurice de Gheest and the Ayr Gold Cup.
Yet, more importantly for his owner, Brando has helped heal the deep wounds brought about by the passing of Astaire. "We never thought we would get another good one after Astaire, but then Brando came along - he has helped take a lot of the pain," Tingey says.
It is easy to see why. Brando has been a mainstay in the top sprint races since 2017, with his familiar hold-up tactics and barnstorming late surges making him a fond favourite among fans.
"We've had offers for Brando," Tingey says, "but we love horseracing and it's hard enough to find a good one anyway. We wanted to make proper horses out of them both ourselves and put our faith in Kevin to do that.
"It's so rare that you just find another one to fill the space that's been left by another.
We've been so lucky to have several horses which have been superb, but it could so easily have been different. I was talking to a guy at York who had spent a million quid on six two-year-olds and was waiting to see if any of them were any good."
Brando was already a bull of a horse as a juvenile. Strong, muscular and blessed with natural speed, the son of Pivotal had to be gelded after his enormous growth became something of a concern for connections.
"He put loads of muscle," Tingey remembers. "In the end we had to geld him because we
were scared he was going to become too big. That was probably the making of him and soon after he won...
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