Vale Cobby the lead Pony – a guide to many of racing’s greats
At 27 years old, the big bay gelding wakes in a barn full of high-energy racehorses each morning. After his breakfast, he’s tacked up in his heavy work saddle and suddenly he feels less than half his age.
With a spring in his step and not an ear pinned back or a tooth bared he dutifully goes to work steering his feisty stablemates to and from and around the racetrack. He is strong, yet forgiving and they trust him.
He might not bring home prize-money cheques or glittering trophies but he is worth his own weight in gold. For he is Cobby, the lead pony, and he’s guided the successful racing careers of hundreds of horses and some greats too – Desert War, Smart Missile and Northern Meteor, to name a few.
Sadly, Cobby didn’t get up for work on Thursday morning. Now his box is empty and many hearts are broken.
His passing was announced in a touching tribute on the Cameron Crockett Racing Facebook page. These were some of the words shared;
The stable is in mourning today with the loss of our most loved and longest serving member ‘Cobby’…
Cobby’s name won’t be found engraved on a trophy or even printed in a racebook, however, he has played an undeniable role in the careers of many of those whose names have.
His is a loss that won’t only be felt physically. He will also be missed for the characteristics he embodied and the lasting effect he had on others (two-legged and four) as only very special horses do.
As a true testament to his character, he worked right up to his last day.
Diamond Head (his official name) was part thoroughbred and quarter horse and was gifted 20 years ago to Cameron and his late father Max by the late John Cobcroft, a highly respected and successful breeder and owner, as a breaking pony to be used at Gooree Stud in Mudgee. During his many years of service there he set many horses on their paths to racing and studbook fame.
In respect of his generous owner, he was nicknamed ‘Cobby’ and was given to the Crockett family on the proviso that if he was not needed or didn’t make the cut as a breaking pony he was to be returned and not moved on. This stipulation was never required as Cobby became the most loyal and reliable member of the team at Gooree, taking on a huge workload and responsibility for nearly two decades.
“He just copped it. I have never seen anything like it. I haven’t seen him try to kick other horses. He would stand over them in the paddock but the minute a saddle was on he wouldn’t raise his leg to them. It was amazing he knew his job.
“He was a big part of the team and if he wasn’t usable you were buggered without him,” Cameron Crockett told ANZ Bloodstock News.
At his peak, his days were long and he never once shirked his task. Rare rest days came only when he battled laminitis in his older age. He loved to work.
“At one stage he would work at the track and lead ten-12 horses and then lead horses around at Gooree until the afternoon. I don’t know how many miles he would do a day. He was unreal.”
Cobby was unique and possessed rare abilities when it came to handling fractious young horses.
“When you have a young horse spinning around you can’t have the lead pony being scared, it’s a very fine art.”
More recently, Cobby had been retired from breaking but continued on as a track pony for the Crockett stable at Scone and as a float companion for horses making an otherwise solo trek down to race in the city.
Last week when the stable lights were switched on for the usual morning’s work Cobby was found lying in his stable. He had died peacefully, heart failure the likely cause.
“It was a bit like when dad died. When it first happens it doesn’t hit you. I know he’s only a lead pony but when you have had the best part of 20 years with him and he’s been there every day, it’s like losing family. He was a once-in-a-lifetime horse. I have never had a horse like him.”
It will take a long time for the loss of Cobby to sink in.
“It’s not the same walking through there without him tied up in the corner box. All the horses would go past him in the morning. It will take a while to get used to that.”
Now, how to replace him?
“Because he was there for 19 years you had him to fall back on. I have no idea where I’m going to get another horse like him. You don’t realise how blessed you are to have a horse like that,” Crockett said.
Cobby was laid to rest at the property of Bridget Bester, Crockett’s veterinarian, in Scone and will be forever remembered by many people, and horses, as the best lead pony there ever was.