Mystera Bounces Back!
Story and Pictures Berni Saunders

Mystera is raced by a keen group of people who are part of the Virtual Racehorse Racing Club and while they do not own the horse, these enthusiasts are part of a club which follows the progress of several horses and share the fun of racing, with like minded friends.

High hopes for the 4 YO mare (by Umatilla from Tamasin, who is out of Idealina) were dashed,  when in peak condition and ready to win, Mystera developed a very painful foot abscess which halted her work and called for the lightly raced bay to be spelled.  Trainer Mark Kavanagh hoped that she would recover from the set back quickly and return to his Flemington stables in a couple of weeks.

Mystera in her stall at Werribee

Levi Kavanagh adjusts the bridle.

When Mystera arrived at my Woodend property she was 'broken leg lame' and very depressed.  She was put out in a grassy paddock during the day and limped across to her nice warm stable at night.  Even the usually tempting Prydes EasiResult (yummy feed) did not encourage her appetite ... and the kilo's dropped off before my eyes.

It could NOT be a foot abscess I thought - she has something more serious going on.  Dr Alistair McLean paid Mystera a visit and confirmed that it was surely a very deep seated abscess and only poulticing, time and mother nature's good wishes would see Mystera on the way to recovery.

Almost another week went by before the first signs of a break through (literally) were evident - then the abscess finally burst and the pain started to disappear, along with the strained expression in Mystera's lovely kind eyes.

That was the good news ... the bad news ... Mystera had now lost a lot of weight and was looking very weak and fragile.  Ribs were clearly visible and she had lost her muscle tone and topline - it promised to be a big job to restore her strength and condition in the reasonably short time frame that Mark Kavanagh had hoped for. The longer she was away from racing the longer it was going to take for her to regain fitness.... in racing, time is money and lost opportunities ...

The finishing post at the Werribee Racecourse

That 's Mystera just before the post.

It was great to see Mystera leave her stable with a spring in her step and enthusiasm for the coming day.   She eagerly waited for her feed bin to be delivered with her favourite EasiResult breakfast.  This is known as a 'sweet feed' and contains all of the vitamins and minerals along with a perfect balance of nutrients.  I knew that she would pick up quickly because she was eating so well.

Over the next three weeks her recovery was remarkable and she was able to return to work.  The Kavanagh stables were pleased with her condition and felt that she had not really lost a lot of fitness in her time off. 

Mystera has only been back at Flemington for a little over a month and has delighted everyone with her speedy return to fitness and strength and just a little over a month after she returned to work she was ready to trial.

Our girl 'bounced back' beautifully when she took part in a trial at the  Werribee race course on Friday 10th July.... all of the club members and other connections were thrilled when she won this 'jump out' in fine style.

I could allow some poetic licence by saying that she beat the million dollar winning, Brian Mayfield-Smith trained, Orange County home ... but sadly the beautiful grey limped back to the stalls on three legs - let's hope he makes a full recovery. (pictured above)

Just quietly, I think Mystera's return to form is another victory to Prydes and I am sure we could not have done it without EasiResult.

Grant Challenger is pleased.

Above - Mystera has the fine yet athletic build of a stayer.

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