Frankie's new life

From leaving Addington in a horse ambulance to collecting champion ribbons, former pacer Press Play has had quite the journey.

Just under two years ago, he began his Life After Racing with Sara Rodgers.

“Frankie’s my first standy,” says Rodgers, who works at Canterbury-based thoroughbred operation Courtco.

“He’s amazing and I adore him.”

Press Play had been down a tough road before finding his new home.

The son of Shadow Play won four of his 37 starts, firstly for Colin DeFilippi and later for Joseph Gray.

After winning at Addington in July 2023, he returned for the Winter Rewards meeting but sustained an injury before his race.

He was taken away in the Horse Ambulance and later diagnosed with a fracture in a hind leg.

It was serious, but not life-threatening.

“The break wasn’t big enough for them to screw it, so it was four months box rest and then into a small paddock,” says Gray.

Eventually Gray was given the all clear to get Press Play back into work, but he decided against it.

“I couldn’t do it,” he says. “I couldn’t risk him getting re-injured, so we retired him.”

“He’s such a beautiful horse. Jet black!”

Enter Sara Rodgers.

She acquired Frankie from well-known re-homer Michelle Morrison in 2024, and he began his Life After Racing at her property near Templeton.

“It was very much one step at a time,” she says.

Over the months that followed, the pair made steady progress. They have now competed in a number of in-hand shows, with Frankie proving pretty good at his new job.

“He’s placed in just about every one of them,” Rodgers says. “He was Champion three times and Reserve once.”

“The last time at Selwyn he was foot perfect. You couldn’t fault him.”

Along the way, Rodgers has kept in touch with both Gray and Press Play’s breeder, Jackie Nelson.

“They are always keen to know what he’s up to,” she laughs.

And there is still more to come.

With spring approaching, Rodgers is keen to take Frankie to more shows. Now that he has also been re-educated to saddle, ridden competitions are on the horizon too.

“We’ve just been doing the basics. It’s mainly walking and trotting.”

“I haven’t ridden much in the past six years, so it’s as much about my confidence as his.”