Royal Ascot 2018: How American raider and King’s Stand hope Bucchero defied all the odds
The six-year-old bids to complete a Group 1 fairytale after the near-death of his mother
BUCCHERO is ready to do his brave mum proud in the King’s Stand Stakes.
And if the US raider has half her courage, beating the world’s top speedsters on the first day of Royal Ascot will be a piece of cake.
Bucchero’s mother Meetmeontime was little more than skin and bone when she was rescued from an abandoned farm in Florida along with 32 other horses.
Nine years on it remains one of the worst cases of horse neglect and cruelty ever seen in America. Meetmeontime had a foal with her who, tragically, didn’t make it.
Some of the other horses were also in such a bad state they were put out of their misery.
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It was touch and go for Meetmeontime too but – against the odds – she was nursed back to health by breeders Karen and Greg Dodd who had made a mercy dash to rescue her after hearing of her plight at the farm.
Harlan Malter heads the five-strong Ironhorse partnership who owns six-year-old Bucchero after buying him from the Dodds.
He explained: “Karen heard about the case and it clicked with her the farm was the same one which had bought Meetmeontime at the sales. She called the ASPCA who said ‘you can have her but we don’t think she’s going to make it’.
“The Dodds saved her life and she rewarded them with Bucchero. He wasn’t a star at first but ground his way up through sheer grit and determination. He got that from his mother!”
Malter snapped Bucchero up for $43,000.
He said: “They gave me a call and said they were very confident this horse was going to be something.”
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They were right, as Bucchero has won over $750,000 and was fourth in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, finishing ahead of the likes of Lady Aurelia, Marsha and Washington DC.
Trainer Tim Glyshaw said: “We think he has a decent chance. We wouldn’t have come over if we thought
he hadn’t.
“It’s Bucchero’s job to fly the flag for the stable. It’s a big deal. This kind of stuff doesn’t happen much to small yards like ours.
“I’d never been out of America a year ago and now I’m at Royal Ascot!”
Glyshaw is not looking forward to wearing top hat and tails though.
He said: “I dress up for the Breeders Cup . . . but I still wear my baseball cap!”
Bucchero is a 25-1 underdog against 2-1 joint favourites Lady Aurelia and Battaash in the lightning-fast five-furlong dash. Yet Glyshaw is not worried about the underdog tag.
He said: “His mum beat the odds just to stay alive so anything is possible.”
Bucchero will get a warm welcome from race fans tomorrow - and this is one Royal fairytale that deserves a happy ending.