THE whole of Fermanagh, never mind Brookeborough where he was born, will be cheering one of their own, ‘Bob’s Worth’ to victory at Cheltenham on Friday in the Gold Cup. If he wins, it will be a rare ‘back to back’ achievement.
For Lois Eadie, who bred him until he was sold as a foal, it will mean seeing again the horse she described as, ‘quality’, even as a foal.
“He wasn’t as robust as some of the foals, but he could fly. He was so athletic.”
Punters still remember last year’s Gold Cup when ‘Bob’s Worth’ had to leapfrog over the hind quarters of a horse that fell in front of him.
Lois, for whom this is the one thing she dreads happening, still gets the shudders thinking about it.
“It happened at the third last fence. He lost seven lengths and I thought to myself, ‘he’s finished’, and the next thing, he came flying down the hill and he still won by seven lengths.”
Lois’ involvement with ‘Bob’ began when she brought his mother, Fashionista’ to be covered by Bob Back.
He was born 11 months later and, six months after that, ‘Bob’ was one of 400-plus foals sold at Tattershalls in Dublin.
“I sold him, in fact, to his jockey on Friday, Barry Geraghty. He kept him for a few years and Nicky Henderson (his present trainer) bought him for his owners.
From then it was upwards and onwards and, whenever ‘Bob’ was racing, Lois and her husband, Roland were there.
“We go over every time he runs because, you know, horses don’t have a long lifespan, so we go over every year to see him.”
The Eadies are close friends of Bob’s trainer and the five-strong syndicate team who own him, such is the regard Lois enjoys with them, and likewise, Bob’s Worth.
‘This year, they didn’t want to bring him to Cheltenham for his ‘prep’ race because it was the time of the terrible storm in England and the ferries going off, so they flew him to Leopardstown. He was up against the top chasers in England, and he won.”
So, what are Lois’ predictions for Friday?
“It’s going to be a very good week, so that’s going to suit him. Definitely, it will be very fast going. The times will be quicker this year, and that suits him. The drier the better.”
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