What started out as a simple shipping trip taking a horse to turnout became a journey into bringing back and winning a race with a horse nobody wanted.
Plot twist: it's a thoroughbred, being trained by standardbred horsemen.
Nick Boyd was transporting a horse for a colleague of his, Handel Viarruel, when another horse became available.
"I was along for the ride for a mare he was racing last year," Boyd told Trot Radio's Norm Borg. "Amongst my travels to pick her up and take her to her turnout farm, I managed to come across this thoroughbred and this guy looking to get rid of him...Pugnacity.
"James 'Friday' Dean was with me due to some unfortunate circumstances and he couldn't get to Florida like he normally does for the Winter, and he said 'why not?' so we all talked and decided to take a chance."
There was one issue with this comeback story that started in the middle of November: none of these owners had experience with training thoroughbreds.
"Standardbreds are lucky, they have The Care & Training of the Pacer and Trotter, that if anyone wanted to pick it up they could at least get some type of regimen for bringing a horse along," noted Boyd. "As it was, I looked and looked and looked and never really came across anything."
To hear the rest of the comeback story, click the play button below.
Trot Radio - Episode 342 - Nick Boyd
Audio Format: MP3 audio
Host: Norm Borg
The opinions expressed are those of the participants and do not necessarily represent those of Standardbred Canada.
(Photo credit: twitter.com)