There won’t be many more bizarre racing stories this year than the tale of Droopys Pumpkin, bought by the Jim Daly Racing Syndicate from the Dunphy brothers, with a racing career tracing back to early 2015.
The Crayford trainer said: “We initially trialled her at Romford and she led and faded over the 400 and we just hoped we had a sprinter that could win a race. She ran in a few sprint opens and couldn’t win one so we graded her in at Peterborough over four bends. She finally won a sprint maiden over 305m at Nottingham and we then took her to Yarmouth where she again ran graded in A1.
“One night she came from well behind to win an A1 and one of the members phoned up and said ‘I think we should try her over 659.’ I said I didn’t agree but we would give it a go. She won six bend graded and then won a 659 open. Another member said ‘I think we should try the Romford 750, I am sure she will stay’. I told him that I wasn’t 100% sure but went along with it. Sure enough she hit the front and kept finding a bit more and won.
“Then the ultimate test of Saturday when she attempted ten bends for the first time in the Boxing Day Marathon over 874 metres at Crayford. At one stage she looked as though she was being caught but then found a bit more when she was challenged and won her heat by a length.
“There are 20 in the syndicate who own her and they are loving every minute of it. We know that she has ‘two racing heads’, and if she is on the bunny she can keep finding a bit more. She has a lot of time to find in the final but after what has happened so far, how can I say that she can’t win it? ”
Daly has confirmed that should Droopys Pumpkin win on Saturday, her next race will be over a mile and three furlongs on Newmarket’s July course.
