OTTB: Careless Cousin

It was October, 2015 and Barbara Burke had just bought out her partners of the dark bay 3-year-old Careless Cousin, convinced the friendly fellow simply did not want to race anymore.

“I was torn on what to do,” said Burke, part of the Overheath Stable syndicate at Woodbine Racetrack. “I didn’t want to see him racing at the low-level claiming races for the rest of his life, but I had no idea what to do now that I had my own horse.”

Burke, who lives far from Woodbine in Sudbury with her husband Jim Radey and her eight-year-old son Bennett, knew Careless Cousin was sound and had a lot to give in another career. She contacted LongRun Thoroughbred Retirement Society and in less than two months, Careless Cousin was scooped up by Chloe Duffy, 15, of Duffy’s Equestrian. The gelding, affectionately known as Eddie, is in training for three-day eventing and is headed to the Thoroughbred Makeover series in Kentucky in October.

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Though Burke and her family don’t own Eddie any longer, they stay in touch with Duffy and the gelding who has been a special friend for Bennett Burke, who has cerebral palsy.

“When Bennett found out I had bought Eddie, he wanted me to bring him home to Sudbury,” Burke said, laughing.

A horse racing fan, Burke joined the Overheath syndicate, run by Charles Overland, the year that the group purchased Careless Cousin at the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society (Ontario) yearling sale at Woodbine. The Ontario-sired dark bay cost $33,000 and showed promise as a 2-year-old, earning more than $56,000.

“We fell in love with him the first time we met him, about two months after he was bought,” said Burke. “He was as gentle as a lamb and Bennett got along with him right away.”

When Eddie started to show the signs that he was not thrilled with racing anymore, the syndicate of some 14 others decided to drop him to the bottom claiming level in the fall of 2015. He won that $4,000 claiming race, but did not attract a claim.

That is when Burke stepped in and paid $3,000 to buy out the partners.

Through LongRun, Eddie found a home quickly with Duffy, who is coached by one of the country’s top three-day eventers, Jessica Phoenix.

“As soon as I walked in the barn at the LongRun foster farm, Eddie welcomed me and I knew he was the one that would be coming home with us.,” said Duffy, who has re-named the gelding Just Between Us. “He has been willing and wanting to learn and I think he is going to be a strong eventer.”

After her good deed, Burke has started work on creating her own syndicate for 10 people to get involved in horse ownership. She is offering shares at $10,000 for her North Quest Thoroughbreds and hopes to complete the syndicate by June 2016. A portion of the initial fee will be set aside for aftercare for the horse upon retirement.

“I believe in looking after your horse after he’s done racing,” said Burke. “Bennett and I are excited to be able to follow Eddie’s post-racing career with Chloe and wish them the best of success.”