Off the canvas and back winning after five years

“It’s like we won a Group One – the amount of messages and calls we’ve received from harness racing people everywhere has just been unbelievable and really humbling.”

Mildura’s Watson family never gave up on their little battler Fortitudo (Courage Under Fire) – and there was hardly a dry eye in the house at his home harness racing track last night (Mar 14) when the 10-year-old gelding defied illness and all the odds to get back to the winner’s circle for the first time in five years.

The pacer known affectionately as “Charlie” spent 16 days fighting for his life in intensive care at the Roseworthy equine hospital in Adelaide in 2018, undergoing three surgeries and losing more than 100 kilograms in weight.

“To this day they really don’t know what happened or what caused it,” trainer Luke Watson said.

“We’d entered him in the trials on the Sunday, and on the Saturday night he just seemed a bit colicky, although he was still passing manure okay.  We walked and walked him and then we noticed a little bit of inflammation in his groin,” he said.

As the inflammation worsened and Fortitudo’s leg swelled to “eight or nine times its normal size” Luke and his wife Kathy rushed the horse to Roseworthy, 350 kilometres away.

“They were absolutely amazing – we will be forever grateful to them, and particularly Dr Oliver Simon. They saved his life,” Watson said.

“Initially they thought it was infection and they were running tests and trying to grow cultures to find out what it was.  But in the end, it was his immune system was attacking itself, his whole immune system was dumping white cells and shutting itself down,” he said.

“I remember at one stage I was on my way over to pick him up because the vets thought he was responding to treatment – I was about halfway when they rang me to tell me to get there quickly because he was going downhill again.

“When I pulled into the carpark, I could hear the horse just screaming in pain.  It was gut wrenching – they told me I needed to decide right then and there if they should operate again for the third time or if we wanted to put him down.

“I asked Oliver what he thought was right by the horse and he said ‘he’s a fighter – he wants to fight’ because he had already made it through so much. We said if he wants to fight, we’ll give him every chance.  That was the last operation, and it was from there he started to pull through.”

Watson said with Fortitudo showing signs of recovery they were able to bring him home and begin nursing him back to health.

“He was like a skeleton, just skin and bone, and for months he could hardly walk without crossing his legs and stumbling but he picked himself up off the canvas time after time,” he said.

“The vets told us once he was picking up, the best thing for him was exercise to help the body build back up, and that he would let us know if he was in pain, or couldn’t do it. So that’s how we’ve handled him. A little bit more each time, and he’s just gradually improved.”

Fortitudo managed just three starts in 2019, a few more in 2020, and ran some placings in 2021.  His 2022 season showed more consistency, and his latest preparation since December has yielded four placings and now a win from 12 starts.

“We retired him probably four times, but every time in the paddock he would look just a little bit better and seem just a bit brighter and Kathy would decide to give him another go. We long ago gave up expecting anything of him in terms of what he can do on the track, it wasn’t about that,” Watson said.

“He’s terrific now to take to the races (Fortitudo was gelded two years ago with a view to his life after racing), he loves racing and what he does is what he does, there’s no pressure on him at all.

“He was always a part of the family and the experience was pretty tough on all of us, so he’s pretty special – he’ll always be with us. Our daughter Sarah rides him at home, he goes over jumps – he’s a real all-rounder,” he laughed.

Fortitudo came from last on the home corner to snatch victory by 1.2 metres, with Kathy dropping her whip in the excitement! Luke, who was driving another of the couple’s team, described the win as the most “soul touching” of his career.

“He buzzed past me, he buzzed past everyone – it was fantastic.  And it was Kathy’s birthday as well.  It was an absolutely amazing night and so many people were so happy for us.  It was really the first time I have seen a true glimpse of the old Fortitudo,” he said.

“Thanks has to go to so many people and friends who helped us in so many ways in his rehabilitation.  But it was the original syndicate owners who were our partners in his early days that had his back when things went to pieces.  They never shied away from paying up the big vet bills that were coming through – they eventually handed ownership over to us, but they were right behind him when he needed them most.

“I rang Oliver this morning to let him know about the win.  Of all the thousands of horses he’s dealt with in the five years since, I asked him if he remembered Fortitudo.  He told me: ‘I will remember that horse until the day I die.  I’ll never forget the fight he put up’.

“That’s the legacy he leaves.  We’re just so proud of him.”

For complete Mildura race results, click here.

by Terry Gange, for Harnesslink