The four-year-old son of Kayf Tara will be cheered on by 3,000 members of the Burrow Seven Racing Club when he competes for the first time next month.
Trained in Middleham, North Yorkshire by Jedd O’Keeffe, Burrow Seven is set to take his chance in a National Hunt Flat race at Catterick on 14th December.
He is named after former Leeds Rhinos star Rob Burrow, who was diagnosed with the disease almost two years ago and has since dedicated his life to raising much-needed funds for the Motor Neurone Disease Association.
Rugby League fan Phil Hawthorne, who set up the racing club last year after developing the idea with Burrow’s friend and former Rhinos star Barrie McDermott, takes up the story.
“Mark Dwyer, the former jockey turned bloodstock agent, is a good friend of mine and told me Henrietta Knight had just the horse for us. We saw him last autumn and were keen to have him. He had a few setbacks which have held up our plans but is still a young horse with time on his side.
“Even though we’ve had to wait over a year to see him run the response has been fantastic, with over 3,000 people signing up to support the club and the Rob Burrow Fight Back Fund with the MDNA,” says Phil.
As you all know, #BurrowSeven has been working really hard preparing for his debut run at Catterick on December 14th & everyone is really looking forward to seeing him in action!
— BurrowSeven (@BurrowSeven) November 26, 2021
We caught up with his jockey, Jack Garritty, for a post-work interview to find out how he's doing… pic.twitter.com/kZNFSPS8Il
The view behind the gallops yesterday was nearly as good as the beautiful #BurrowSeven himself! We managed to snag a video of him training for his upcoming debut. Everyone at Team B7 is super excited and can’t wait to see him on the race track soon @Rob7Burrow pic.twitter.com/D1A7l6tXjq
— BurrowSeven (@BurrowSeven) November 25, 2021
“The support we’ve had from the Rugby League family and the horse racing family has already been amazing and we’re hoping this horse will help us raise even more funds for the MNDA and Leeds Hospital Charities, which is also close to Rob’s heart. Any prize money he wins will go to the charities.”
Around 130 members turned up at O’Keeffe’s yard to see the gelding during National Racehorse Week in September and Catterick is preparing to welcome a big number of them when Burrow Seven makes his eagerly awaited debut.
McDermott, who was instrumental in getting the club off the ground, and former dual champion Flat jockey Paul Hanagan will be among those lending their support at Catterick on the much anticipated big day.
Burrow Seven will be out to emulate the achievements of another charity horse Buzz, who has raised around
£45,000 for the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity following wins in the Cesarewitch and the Coral Hurdle at Ascot for trainer Nicky Henderson and his winning syndicate, Thurloe Thoroughbreds.
You can still support Rob by joining the Burrow Seven Racing Club for just £59 at burrowseven.com.
