If there was ever a horse representing hope and humanity, it would be Lot 394 of the recent NZB Premier Yearling Sale at Karaka.

By Snitzel out of the well-related Stravinsky mare Lady Firebird, the baldy-faced Cambridge Stud consigned filly was purchased for $60,000 by Ian MacDonald of Ramlegh Park Pastoral.

MacDonald then approached CatWalk Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Trust founder Catriona Williams and offered 50% of the filly’s gross profits from her racing and breeding careers to CatWalk.

CatWalk is dedicated to raising funds to support the body of scientific opinion which says a cure for spinal cord injury will be found.   

Williams, formerly one of New Zealand’s leading international equestrian riders, is confined to a wheelchair and so is MacDonald.

“Ian was in New Zealand with his son Lachlan and together they wanted to purchase a yearling specifically targeted towards the NZB Karaka Million in February 2012,” Williams said.  “The plan being to not only make the race but to win it.  Dreaming you might say, but then again all the greatest results begin with a dream!”

The Karaka filly will soon have a page dedicated to her progress on the CatWalk website – www.catwalk.org.nz