FOR those who still cannot quite get to grips with Twitter and Facebook, and think that Snapchat is simply a witty remark, someone trending on social media might not appear that remarkable.
However, when the someone is an 11-year-old racehorse who has just won on an ordinary card at Nottingham on a very ordinary Tuesday then it is remarkable and a reminder of the enduring appeal that some horses have to the public.
Kingsgate Native first came to their attention at about the same time as Twitter when he won the Nunthorpe Stakes as a juvenile in 2007 but appeared to be another of racing’s shooting stars when he was retired to stud the following year having won the Golden Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot.
However, Plan A was scrapped when Kingsgate Native was found to be shooting blanks – not much call for infertile stallions – but he has hit the target on the racecourse since and runs in the totescoop6 Beverley Bullet this afternoon.
In his heyday Kingsgate Native ran with the best and beat them in the King George Stakes at Goodwood in 2007 and twice in the Temple Stakes at Haydock Park in 2010 and again three years later. But the veteran had not won for over a year until that Nottingham race earlier this month, after which he was trending fourth on Twitter, which was vindication of his trainer, Robert Cowell, to buck that losing trend rather than retire the horse.
“Something was amiss, although we didn’t find anything, but I wasn’t keen to retire the horse,” Cowell explained. “All his work had been excellent and it wasn’t a surprise to see him win at Nottingham. He’s not ready to hang up his trainers just yet.
“He’s good fun to be around, a lovely horse and everyone loves riding him - even though he drops people quite often because he acts the fool a lot. He wouldn’t be very good leading two-year-olds.”
Cowell, who sent out two winners at this year’s Royal Ascot meeting, is renowned for training sprinters and rejuvenating horses and he took over training Kingsgate Native from Sir Michael Stoute in 2012. He trains just outside of Newmarket and Cowell’s tranquil location allows for a less regimented approach which can be beneficial. “The horse had the engine and we just retuned it again.
“They do their school work and then they have they play time – a bit like educating a child,” he said, adding of his reputation as the Sprint King: “We get sent lots of nice horses because of it and it’s better to be known for something than nothing.”
Kingsgate Native has become known for being a hold-up horse and Cowell said: “He’s a course and distance winner, I don’t think he’s any back number at all and provided he gets some daylight in the last two furlongs he should go close.”
Another win will give his fans something to tweet about.
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