IT will have only warranted a line in race reports, the unfortunate death of the multiple winner Freescape at Killarney. While some will know the horse’s name, most will not know what this gelding meant to the David Marnane team, where he was a stable favourite, or the almost incredible story of a clandestine owner.

Following on is a tribute penned by this female owner, a member of the syndicate who owned Freescape, but first here are some facts about the nine-year-old. Bred at Overbury Stud where his sire Cityscape (Selkirk) stood, Freescape sold as a foal for 3,500gns, and the following September he was back in the ring at the Tattersalls Ireland Yearling Sale where Peter and Ross Doyle Bloodstock spent €20,000 to get him.

Last week, Freescape raced for the 61st time, and his career yielded seven wins, 14 placed efforts and earnings of nearly £165,000. He was twice placed in stakes company, beaten a neck by Group 3 winner Bear Story in the Listed Diamond Stakes at Dundalk, and during his travels to Dubai he was third in the Listed Trans Gulf Mechanical Meydan Classic. One of his best career performances was when he was two lengths behind the multiple Group 1 winner Lord Glitters, finishing fourth, in the Group 1 Singspiel Stakes at Meydan.

Freescape is one of six offspring from the once-raced Careless Freedom (Bertolini), and just one of the others managed to be placed, while two were unnamed. The gelding’s grandam bred five winners, while his third dam Scarcely Blessed (So Blessed) won three races, including the Group 3 King George Stakes at Goodwood, and placed six times from just 11 starts. Her placed efforts numbered a runner-up spot in the Group 3 Diadem Stakes at Ascot.

Scarcely Blessed’s five winning progeny are headed by the leading sprinter, trained by Vincent O’Brien, College Chapel (Sharpo). His five career wins were made up of victories in the Group 2 (now Group 1) Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville, the Group 3 Cork and Orrery Stakes at Royal Ascot, two editions of the Group 3 Greenlands Stakes at the Curragh, and the Group 3 Tetrarch Stakes, also at headquarters. He was second in the Group 1 July Cup and third in the Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes.

Paying tribute

The anonymous syndicate member paid this tribute to Freescape. “When you suddenly find yourself in the middle of Co Tipperary with the most famous horse racing stud farms in the world all around you, and you know nothing about racing, what to do? Buy into a race horse and see what happens.

“David Marnane Racing in Bansha, apart from winning races, is very dedicated to bringing new people into the sport. Freescape came into my life as a two-year-old colt. He was huge and all knees and elbows. At the time, there was no point mentioning him to my partner, who would have kiboshed the entire adventure. It was simpler to say nothing - so nothing was said.

“The racing folk are used to husbands not mentioning racehorses to their wives, but this was a first in the neighbourhood, and clearly quite amusing. Freescape ran his first race in Killarney as a two-year-old with Pat Smullen on board. The other four runners stretched out their necks, but Freescape held his head up high, watching Co Kerry go by, and ended up at the rear of the five starters. Back in the parade ring, Pat Smullen looked at the trainer and me and said: ‘This is a racehorse.’

“That was the beginning. He took us to Dundalk where he loved the surface and won frequently. I had never been in a betting shop in my life, and went into one in Tipperary Town. I put my money on the counter and bravely said: ‘Freescape please, either way.’ The reply came: ‘Do you mean each way?’ I blushed: ‘That’s exactly it, each way!’

“I’ve never bet on another horse, and when I walk in, they say: ‘Where is Freescape running?’ I’m a one-horse gambler. He raced in Ireland, England, and he qualified for Dubai where he raced for five winter seasons. The weather was wonderful there. Smart horse.

Great character

“Whenever he won, Freescape got carrots the next day, and the trainer got a bottle of champagne. Freescape was a great character and loved the trainer’s daughter, Rianna, who rode him out every morning. He knew me and greeted me when I would arrive in the yard.

“My partner and I went out to dinner in a local bistro where lots of racing people I know go. Freescape had just returned to Bansha from overseas, and it is good manners to ask how a horse has travelled. When my partner went to the bar, the lads quickly inquired how he had travelled. ‘Very well. Thank you for asking.’ Disaster averted.

“He took me around the world, taught me a lot, and I had a huge amount of fun in the process.

“Mary, the trainer’s mother, often said: ‘You’ve got to tell him.’ How could I say to my partner, ‘Oh, by the way, I forgot to mention, I’ve had a race horse for seven years?’ On July 15th, Freescape raced in Killarney, where it had all started and where it tragically all came to a sudden end. He broke a leg and an awful lot of hearts as well.”