The horse named in honour of Leeds Rhinos legend Rob Burrow MBE has had to be pulled out of its racing debut. Beep Beep Burrow was due to appear in a race for the first time at Doncaster on Tuesday, with the six-year-old helping to raise funds and awareness into Burrow's fight against Motor Neurone Disease.
However, it will now not run after vets ruled the horse out on medical grounds. Trainer Jedd O'Keeffe said: "It's unbelievably unlucky. We found him this morning lame in his box and found a haematoma between his front legs.
"We got the vet immediately and the vet found that he may have had a pin prick with a foreign body, or it might be as simple as an infected hair follicle. I don't think I've ever had one of those ever, never mind on the morning of a race. I feel so sorry for all the people who have put in so much effort."
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Beep Beep Burrow should be clear to make his racing bow in a fortnight or so's time, but with Burrow and his family set to attend Doncaster Racecourse on Tuesday, the news of the horse's withdrawal was a blow for The Good Racing Co, who run the club behind the horse.
"We got a call from Jedd this morning but fortunately it's something and nothing, we hope he could be out on January 28 at Doncaster," Phil Hawthorne, from the Good Racing Co, said.
"It's unbelievably frustrating. ITV News were sending a crew, so were the BBC and Sky Sports. We were going to get a fair bit of PR from it."
This is not the first venture into horse racing for those supporting Burrow. His former Leeds team-mate, Barrie McDermott, founded a racing club that helped launch the racing career of Burrow Seven, before that horse was forced into retirement.
Thankfully, Leeds fans and Burrow will not have to wait too long to see the next horse named after the rugby league icon in action after this initial setback.
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