Bumper debut in prospect for Burrow Seven

Keith Hamer
March 30, 2021 12:15 pm

O’Keeffe may wait if ground continues to dry.

Jedd O’Keeffe describes Burrow Seven as an “exciting prospect” as he looks to give the four-year-old his racecourse debut in a bumper before putting him over hurdles.

There is no date yet for the grey’s first run, because the North Yorkshire trainer felt the son of Kayf Tara needed more time.

However, the horse who carries the hopes – as well as the name – of the Burrow Seven Racing Club, is now back in full work.

“We had to back off him for a little while. He was just telling us he was physically not quite ready,” said O’Keeffe.

Thanks to @jeddokeeffe‘s Racing team for doing such a fantastic job with #BurrowSeven. Here is the latest update on how he is getting on 🏇 pic.twitter.com/qUMBFw4ocL
— BurrowSeven (@BurrowSeven) March 26, 2021

“We had been bringing him towards a peak, but we decided to take a bit of a pull.

“He’s now back in ridden work every day, and we’re going to be making a plan.”

O’Keeffe will test Burrow Seven on the track only when he feels the time is right.

“We think he’s going to be a proper jumper who wants give in the ground,” he added.

“We might end up running out of time (this season) if everywhere dries up, but he’s in great shape at the moment. We’re really happy with him.

“He’s an exciting one for the future – we like him very much.

“We’re likely to be starting in a bumper. I would think next season he will be going over hurdles.”

All prize money won by the horse will go to the Burrow Seven Racing Club for research into the treatment of motor neurone disease.

Rob Burrow during his playing days for Leeds Rhinos (Richard Sellers/PA)

The club was created to gather donations for Rob Burrow’s Fightback Fund, itself launched after the former Leeds Rhinos scrum-half was diagnosed with MND in December 2019.

Within a month of its creation, the club had gathered sufficient interest to donate GBP 50,000 to the fund – and that amount has more than doubled since.

O’Keeffe said: “As far as I’m aware, the fund-raising is going very well.

“It has been incredibly well supported, beyond anybody’s expectations.”