For Me Dad continues sentimental journey
Something tells the man who owns aptly named For Me Dad there is more to the filly’s winning streak than obvious talent.
Neil Osborne has played an important role as trainer but it is the intangible that Greg Corra is willing to embrace as a rush of wins have earned For Me Dad a Rosehill start.
For Me Dad is named as a tribute to Corra’s father Peter who died not long after the now three-year-old was foaled.
“She is the last horse my father ever touched before he died,” Corra said.
“It’s the last photo I ever had of my father and Dad died a week after she was born so it’s a very sentimental thing for me.”
After wins on country NSW tracks, For Me Dad will be given a chance to make it four wins in a row in an 1100m-benchmark race on Saturday and family support for the filly will include Corra’s 87-year-old mother Shirley.
“It will be the first time that Mum has been to the races since Dad died. She wants to come along,” Corra said.
Corra is one of Australia’s biggest wine exporters, running his business from a property where he also keeps a close watch on his thoroughbreds.
He has never raced a city winner and even if For Me Dad isn’t good enough on Saturday, there is some expectation her moment will come before her racing career is finished.
“I said to Dad as we got more successful in business that we were going to send the mares to good stallions and we’re going to breed a champion.
“Well, we haven’t quite bred a champion. We’ve bred what is quite an honest horse and an exciting and extremely special one.
“It’s stunning that she has turned out to do what she’s done.
“Somehow I just can’t stop feeling that the horse has some amazing bond and there’s something very strange about the way she just tries her heart out.
“It’s a very special feeling for me and a great legacy for Dad to be honest. It’s a great memory for my father.”