Our commitment to
racehorse welfare
A life after racing is just as important
At Heart of the South Racing, we are proud to say we care deeply about our horses and that’s why we always take a horse comes first approach during their racing careers and when their racing career comes to an end.
We strive to buy decent and sound horses who enjoy long, successful careers and indeed many provide fun for their Owners over a number of years. But once it is time to hang up their racing plates – what happens to our horses?
Life After Racing
Life After Racing is something that is becoming much more recognised in the British horseracing industry and it is so rewarding to see your horses enjoying a life or a new career once their racing days come to an end.
Some horses (especially the successful fillies with broodmare potential) go to the sales if that’s the best option and the time is right, however there can be a time when retirement is the kindest outcome and we put a big emphasis on making sure our horses go to knowledgeable, and suitable forever homes. Our dedicated team work closely with a network of trusted people, former owners and rehoming contacts to match the horse to a home that meets their needs.
We love hearing about how they are getting on in their new homes – whether that be as a riding horse, in a competition, Point to Pointing, polo match or just loving life out in the field – and we still regularly visit several of our ex-racehorses in retirement!
Read our successful rehoming stories below – you might recognise a name or two!
Our retired horses, where are they now?
Fruity O’Rooney
He really was the horse of a lifetime who won 9 races & gave some thrilling memories at the Cheltenham Festival, Scottish Grand National & the Hennessy (to name a few!) He is very special to HOTSR & his Owners.
He was retired in 2016 and quickly found the perfect home with Beccy! It came as no surprise that he excelled with cross country, competitions and dressage to a high standard! Now at the age of 22, Fruity enjoys a quieter pace of life where he gets spoilt daily whilst out in the paddocks with his friends!
Raven’s Lady
After providing us with our first Group level victories, Raven’s Lady will always hold a special place in our hearts! She was immensely tough and won 6 races in total, finishing frequently in the prize money.
She was sold for 325,000gns in 2018 at the Tattersalls Broodmare Sales and raced for a year in America before becoming a broodmare. Her first foal is the remarkable Group 1 winner Ramatuelle and her second foal, Tito Mo Cen, is a dual Listed winner. What an amazing broodmare she has become!
Imperial Ruby
Home bred Imperial Ruby looked to be a smart prospect when in training, but as his career progressed it became evident that he just wasn’t in love with his racing and he retired young.
The good news is one of Impy’s existing Owners, Sar, gave the horse his forever home and what a home it has been! Impy has cleaned up on ROR classes and was crowned the 2017 ROR Show Series Champion! He also won the title of ROR Thoroughbred Ridden Show Horse at the Royal Windsor Horse Show!
South Cape
This dear horse was our first home bred! He won 10 races in total, over £100,000 in prize money and took us to Royal Ascot and Glorious Goodwood. In the latter stages of his racing days, he was a school master for the apprentice jockeys!
He retired age 12 and had a very happy retirement in the paddocks whilst he waited to move to jockey Ryan Moore’s home to be a riding horse for his wife. However, very sadly in 2015 South Cape fell and unfortunately couldn’t be saved. We miss him greatly.
Royal Battalion
Giving his Owners lots of fun days at the races including two fabulous wins at the same meeting at Fontwell Park, it was sadly the end of Royal Battalion’s racing career in 2017 after a fall saw him lose his confidence and love for the game.
Roy had the best retirement with Eloise, competing in low level showing, XC and dressage (he won a red rosette!) Sadly, Roy had a few worsening health problems as retirement went on, and the kindest thing was to cease his pain. He is very much missed.
Oh So Fruity
A half brother to our sensational chaser Fruity O’Rooney, Oh So Fruity had big shoes to fill! He made an encouraging start to his National Hunt career but unfortunately he had a wind issue that just couldn’t be rectified despite our attempts.
He retired in 2016 and had 3 homes before he found his forever one with Robyn. They have enjoyed many days in the show ring (where he won for first time!) and he loves being a happy hack – especially to Robyn’s children who he’s incredibly gentle with.
Mohanad
Mo was a super horse who achieved 4 wins for Sheena West (on the flat and over hurdles) and was placed 27 times, including 2 placed finishes for Philip Hide. He was such a popular horse at HOTSR as he gave his all in every race and had a huge heart.
Mo found his lifelong home with Lin Stone who used to look after him during his summer holidays! At the grand age of 19, Mo enjoys plenty of hacking around the roads of Framfield and he is well and truly happy and spoilt!
Onehelluvatouch
We bought this beautiful grey at the foal sales and she won a race for us at Brighton under Jim Crowley. She had a couple of runs over hurdles too but ultimately wasn’t quite the horse Owners had hoped for and she was retired aged 5.
She was quickly rehomed and now has a new life with Carl in Hampshire. She is such a beautiful looking horse so it comes as no surprise that she has won several showing classes and ROR ex-racehorse classes still to this day!
Good Luck Charm
This lovable rouge was our 2009 home bred who grew up to be one of HOTSR most popular and consistent horses. He was a 9-time winner, placed regularly and raced a huge 93 times! He really did love his job and was such a mischievous 11yo at home!
Good Luck Charm retired sound and happy in 2020 to live out his days with two of his syndicate Owners, Jane and Phil. He has enjoyed the odd hunt and ride but prefers his quiet life out in the paddock with friend Rosie. We still visit him regularly.
Dragons Voice
The lovely Dragons Voice started his racing career in Findon with Philip Hide before moving to David Menuisier in 2018. He won 6 races, was frequently placed in Class 2/3 company and produced so many wonderful happy memories!
He retired in 2020 after he just didn’t seem to have the same zest towards his racing, and found a home with Sarah in the countryside. He has been trail riding over the Black Mountains and done some schooling and pole work. He’s very happy in his new life.
Trafalgar Boy
Trafalgar Boy was a very promising individual who was placed behind Shishkin in a bumper before finishing 2nd on his hurdling debut. We had high hopes for his racing career but unfortunately a previous injury reared its ugly head and he was retired from racing.
He originally found a home in Devon where he competed in the Devon County Shows & won the Open ROR Class before moving back towards Sussex to become a riding horse. Coincidentally he is now at the same yard where his old racing groom is!
Pivotal Time
Pivotal Time (Pali) was another foal purchase who we adored having at Beggars Barn! He went into training with David Menuisier at the age of 2, however repetitive troubles with his feet unfortunately meant he had to retire from racing young.
It wasn’t our most successful syndicate story, but his life after racing really has been! Pali undertook some retraining at Palace House before becoming a therapy horse to help people deal with their mental health. He still enjoys the odd hack and really loves his job.
Cilaos Glace
Cilaos Glace (or Booty as we nicknamed him!) was arguably the most eye-catching horse we have syndicated and he was popular for that reason! He came into training aged 3 and needed time before achieving 3 impressive NH wins with Oliver Sherwood.
Booty was quickly rehomed in 2023 to experienced rider Caroline where he lives a life full of adventures! He has enjoyed fun rides, trips to the local pub, days out hunting and most recently finished 2nd in his first ridden showing class!
Quloob
Quloob was another popular horse amongst his Owners and the Gary Moore team. He was a very kind individual won 5 races throughout his career, and took his Owners to some of the prestigious flat meetings before retiring due to an injury.
It didn’t take long to find him a home and he now lives in Lambourn with Tara. Now named Kobi, he has won many showjumping competitions (he always was an excellent jumper!) and is absolutely thriving in his new life!
Waikiki Waves
Anyone who came across this horse just utterly fell in love with him and we so enjoyed owning him! He won 8 times during his National Hunt career with Gary Moore before after a few years jumping virtually retired himself in 2023!
We took our time with rehoming Waikiki before our own Eloise went to have a sit on him and well the rest his history – he now lives with the Adamski family! He loves being turned out with his pals as well as enjoying clinics, lessons and the odd pony camp!
Aiguillette
Aiguillette was the last of our home bred foals and was the younger brother to 9-time winner Good Luck Charm. He won himself for us over a mile at a low level before retiring from racing in 2022.
A young lady named Saffron had followed Aiguillette’s career from the start (as she owns his Dam Lucky Dice) and jumped at the chance to offer him a lifelong home when she heard he was retiring. He now enjoys hacks alongside his mum – such a lovely ending!
Ruby Yeats
We leased this mare for the NH season and she won 4 times for her Owners! However, our journey with Ruby didn’t end there as she went onto be our Broodmare for our breeding syndicate when she retired in 2022.
Ruby was successfully covered by Planteur and foaled the most beautiful filly in March 2023 – nicknamed Twiggy! She is now aged 2 and currently in pre-training ahead of moving to Gary & Josh Moore’s yard. Ruby has since had another foal by Golden Horn.
Reckon I’m Hot
Nicknamed Bolt, this lad was a super consistent horse for HOTSR who won at Bath in May 2023 following a disqualification! He may have been small in size but his heart was huge and he always gave his all!
He retired in 2023 and quickly found a home with Olivia who plays for the Women’s England Polo team! Bolt has taken to his new career brilliantly and now plays in several chukkas at Cirencester Polo Club! He looked fabulous when we recently visited him.
Legal Rights
We purchased Legal Rights from France & the transformation he had physically since arriving with Gary Moore was outstanding! He’d really strengthened up which was evident when he won 3 times over hurdles in one season for his Owners.
However, in 2024 Legal Rights sadly fell out of love with his job so he was retired. He found a really wonderful home in Scotland and has enjoyed and excelled at some low level events! It’s great to see him really enjoying life post racing.
Walk In The Wild
Walk In The Wild was a powerhouse of a horse and he achieved two eye-catching back-to-back wins in the mud over fences with Gary Moore. Unfortunately, he didn’t quite progress from here and was therefore retired in April 2024.
It was unsurprising that it didn’t take long for him to find his forever home and he quickly moved to Bristol with Reg who is a friend of one of his syndicate Owners. After a summer off he’s joined the local hunt and won two Point To Point races!
Lady Twilight
We have known Lady Twilight since the day she was born and were naturally excited to follow her journey in training with Gary Moore. She had a couple of runs for us but physically just couldn’t cope with the stresses of racing and was retired in 2024.
Perhaps a little time was what this filly needed as after some time off she is excelling in the world of showjumping with her new Owner! She’s enjoyed successful away days, classes, competitions and we just love following her progress!
Pyrotechnic
Pyrotechnic was purchased from France and was a very likable sort! He placed a few times over hurdles with Gary & Josh Moore before having to retire in the spring of 2025 due to a reoccurring wind issue that couldn’t successfully be fixed.
Pyro had to wait a little while to find a suitable home, but along came Nik and you could say it was love at first sight! He’s a very experienced rider and plans to give Pyro some time off before trying a few showjumping and showing classes in the future.
Contact Us
If you have a question about the race calendar, where your horse will be running next, or to discuss upcoming opportunities, then our team are here to help. Fill out the contact form or call us today.
Follow us on social media to be the first to hear exciting updates and racing highlights!