After Howard Johnson gave up training and I moved from North Yorkshire, I had only intermittent contact with him; but I occasionally called for a chat, particularly when Sizing John (whose dam I purchased from him) achieved some major success or earned an award for his breeders.
I also called Howard from Ireland the day before Feathard Lady’s Grade 1 winning daughter, AUGUSTA KATE, was to be sold at the November Sale, to find out what I could about the mare (she had been raised by him for his patron, Graham Wylie). I bid on her when the bidding started at a ridiculously low level but eventually it reached €85,000, which was fair value but above my available funds at the time. However, in talking to Howard I also found out that her dam was in Howard’s care and that he didn’t anticipate covering her again, due to her age (18).
Feathard Lady was an unbeaten racehorse, winner of all seven of her races (2 NH Flat and 5 over hurdles), which included the Grade 1 Christmas Hurdle and a 19-runner Grade C handicap when she started at odds of 7-4. She had been purchased on behalf of Graham Wylie at Doncaster in August 2007, for what was until 2020 a record price for a broodmare, 270,000 guineas,; but her owner had lost interest in breeding and left her in Howard’s care as she reached her mid-teens.
I thought Feathard Lady was too good a mare to retire from breeding at that age, so I called Howard back some time later to suggest she be covered by Telescope under the TBA Elite Mares Scheme, which would mean that she received a free nomination. He agreed and the mare was sent to Shade Oak for covering.
However, the Elite Mares Scheme provides subsidised or free nominations but not free veterinary care, and Howard was taken aback when the invoices began to arrive, particularly when an initially successful first cover went wrong and more work was required. Being by nature a shrewd Durham farmer, he was particularly concerned about paying such bills when it would be over 18 months before any possible income might arrive.
I therefore proposed a means by which Howard would see no more bills of any kind – though I also told him that, if I were in his position, I would not accept my offer but would keep on paying the bills in the expectation of a significant return in due course. This was a ‘foal share’ arrangement in which Peter Hockenhull and I would assume responsibility for looking after the mare and paying all fees in exchange for sharing her foals on a 50/50 basis.
After thinking it over for two days, Howard accepted the offer. Feathard Lady was covered again by Telescope and on March 31st 2020 produced a big, strong filly . Since Peter and I were delighted with the filly and very much wanted to race and later breed from her, I offered to buy out Howard’s share in both her and the mare, and we quickly agreed what we both thought a fair deal.
Only time will tell how this works out, but it certainly began badly for the buyers. The filly foal suffered an injury shortly after we completed the purchase, necessitating significant veterinary costs, but she recovered fully, was pre-trained by Denis Leahy and now looks like a fairly good racing prospect. Modest objectives set for her by Mr Hockenhull include the Cheltenham Mares Novice Hurdle in 2025, the Mares Hurdle in 2026, the Mares Chase in 2027 and the Gold Cup in 2028.
More seriously, after a small bout of colic in June 2020 whilst she was still rearing the foal, Feathard Lady suffered a much more serious attack in October, shortly after she had again been scanned in foal to Telescope. Despite immediate veterinary attention we were unable to save her.
So we are left with the memory of an all too brief involvement with a truly outstanding mare, one of very few to have both won a Grade 1 race herself and bred a Grade 1 winner – a memory that we hope will be strengthened by the beautiful daughter she left behind.
That daughter is now named ‘Pretty Flamingo’, after the Manfred Mann song of the 1960s, on account of her long legs, easy movement and noble head carriage. We also hope she will make some of the words of the song come true when she races: “She’s out of reach and out of sight.”
I would love to hear a commentator say that!
And, of course, since she has a long-time semi-sibling rivalry with her contemporary Visions Of Johana, the other final foal produced by an outstanding mare purchased from Howard Johnson, she also needs to have her own song – particularly since that’s how she came by her name…
PRETTY FLAMINGO: a slightly reworked version of the classic Manfred Mann anthem
No surprise, all of the guys call her Flamingo
‘Cos when she jumps she gets so high
It seems like she could touch the sky
Skin that glows, everyone knows she’s a Flamingo
Eyes so bright and legs so long
Stride that flows so smooth and strong
When she goes by, it’s like a stroll upon the beach,
Though others try, with all their might
She’s out of sight, and out of reach
Don’t need prayer, nothing else there can touch the Flamingo
We all know she’ll win the race
The rest just run for second place
When she strides out, the others lose the will to fight
There is no doubt, just hear the cries:
‘She’s out of reach, and out of sight’
One sweet day, I’m gonna say: ‘Come home Flamingo’
‘It’s time to turn to motherhood
‘And time to breed one just as good’
Ma ma ma, mama ma ma, come home Flamingo
Ma ma ma, mama ma ma, Pretty Flamingo….