'Rummy' setting out to end colour prejudice on the track

ONE day, either before the end of this year's Flat season or early in the next, history will be made on a Yorkshire racecourse; so insists Heather Kitching and an hour or so in her company would convince even the most sceptical observer that she may well be right.

Her objective is simple: to see her two-year-old colt Angrove Rum Baba prove to the racing world that coloured horses can compete on equal terms with the thoroughbred.

The pride of her life has an enviable pedigree which makes him 87.5 per cent thoroughbred with names like Northern Dancer, Nureyev, Roberto, Forli, Mr Prospector, Danzig, Kris S and Dr Fong in his bloodlines. Milan Mill, the dam of Mill Reef, figures on the distaff side.

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Mrs Kitching found Ricco, her colt's bay Piebald sire, in a poor state of health lying in a livery yard in Liverpool four years ago, bought him and took him home to the Angrove Stud at Great Ayton where he eventually covered Bond Angel Eyes, a thoroughbred mare, and the outcome was Angrove Rum Baba.

A woman with a phenomenal knowledge of horse genetics and breeding, Mrs Kitching said as she watched her two-year-old work at trainer Paul Midgley's yard at Westow, not far from Malton: "There has never been a winning racehorse that has been coloured; we hope 'Rummy' will be the first."

There was every indication that her ambition will be realised as the youngster with the brown-and-white patched coat galloped impressively for Midgley's apprentice jockey Paul Pickard.

A late foal – he came into the world on July 7, 2008 – 'Rummy' has not been rushed into training but has made rapid strides since he moved into Midgley's yard in July this year. "We treat him exactly as we do the other horses here," said the trainer, "same food, same work, everything.

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"He looks like he'll race over a mile or maybe a mile-and-a-quarter but these are early days. He does everything right and has a good temperament; we'll know where we are heading in a few weeks.

"Anything he does this season will be a bonus because he has plenty of maturing to do. At the moment, we are teaching him his job, educating him if you like," added Midgley who, as luck had it, had one spare box among the 60 at his Sandfield Farm yard when Mrs Kitching approached him with a view to training the youngster which was the result of years of planning, study and research.

"We just want him to prove to the doubters that coloureds can have careers as racehorses," she says. "From the start, he was competitive; he would compete with his mother when he was only a few weeks old and as a foal would fight with his father. Now we just want him to put his bum down and go."

Although he has yet to see a racecourse, 'Rummy' has appeared in public, being named supreme reserve champion at Potto Show, where he appeared mystified to see horses with people sitting on their backs.

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He has also attracted attention among breeders of coloured horses world-wide. "We've had people contacting us from the United States, Canada, the Far East, even Libya," said Mrs Kitching, who has promoted coloured horses for over 30 years, founding the Coloured Horse and Pony Agency,

winning every major championship open to coloured horses in the 1990s when she ran the Bassano Stud.

"They are all following his progress and keen for him to do well.

"If things don't work out,

he can go into other things –

he would make a good sports horse – but we really want him to make a career as a racehorse, to do a job for his trainer and prove that there is room for coloureds in mainstream racing."

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Mrs Kitching and her husband Alistair own Angrove Rum Baba but are looking to syndicate him, preferably among Yorkshire racing enthusiasts.

"We have about 20 people on board at the moment," she says, "but, ideally, we would like to reach 50."

For details of how to share in potential racing history for 35 per week, ring 01642 724860 or email [email protected]

Coloured by definition...

A "COLOURED" horse is one which has a broken or non-solid colour. There may be two or more distinguishable colours in its coat; it may have spots or the coat may be a roan appearance.

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If the coloured part of the horse is black, the horse is described as Piebald (Pinto in the United States); if the colour or a variation of brown (eg chestnut or bay) it is called Skewbald. A tri-coloured horse will typically have black and brown markings on white.

Historically, coloureds were heavyset but, with the introduction of warm bloodlines, that has gradually been phased out. They were widely regarded as "second-class citizens" compared to solid-coloured types in horse-breeding circles but now their popularity is expanding rapidly and a breakthrough on the racecourse would add to their status.

Coloured horses are not allowed to race in the United States but, provided they are included in the Non-Thoroughbred Register, they can compete in Britain, France, Germany and Italy.

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