“Life is tough, we’ve all got problems and you’ve just got to keep going and keep fighting your way through.”
It’s a motto that Ray Fellows lives by.
Given what the Rosebud plasterer has gone through, it’s an incredible philosophy.
If you ask Fellows, it’s also a mantra adopted by Group 1 sprinter Baraqiel, the horse whose own story has haunting parallels with that of Fellows’ son Troy and one that has become a beacon of hope for their entire family.
In 2009, Fellows and his two sons, Troy and Charles, were involved in a devastating roadside accident when a car ran through the trio. Ray and Troy survived, albeit with serious injuries. Charles didn’t.
In the weeks, months and years after the accident, the family tried to heal.
Even with Fellows’ overwhelmingly positive outlook on life, it was no easy task.
It has been said that the outside of a horse is good for the inside of a man and so it has proved to be for Fellows and his son who, as a way to build a bond and share an interest outside of work, decided to race a horse.
Troy bought a share in a then unraced son of Snitzel being offered for syndication by Nathan Bennett’s Bennett Racing operation. Ray followed with a few shares of his own.
If you ask them, it’s the greatest thing they ever did.
“After the accident and losing my other son Charles, I just wanted to build a bond with Troy,” Fellows said.
“How do you build a bond with someone? You find something that they are interested in, don’t you?”
“If you talk about Richmond or if you talk about horses, you’ll get Troy’s attention.”
“I knew nothing about horses but Troy’s good mate was tied up with Bennett Racing and they ended up buying a share in Baraqiel.”
“I followed him in and ended up buying shares in a heap of other horses with them afterwards.”
“Bennett Racing is like a club and it gives you a place to belong.”
“The racing thing started as a way to build that bond between a father and his son but it’s built our family back together again after a terrible loss.”
Fellows now has small shares in more than 30 of Bennett Racing’s horses, including Stakes winners Fawkner Park and Stay Focused, as well as spring aspirants Jimmy Recard and Stay Cosmic.
There have been cheers and tears with all of them but none have given him the satisfaction of watching Troy’s ride with Baraqiel.
A series of freak accidents and other untimely setbacks meant the hulking sprinter didn’t debut until his five-year-old season.
Some owners relinquished their shares before he’d even raced. Troy stuck solid and was rewarded, with the Corstens and Larkin-trained galloper winning six of his first eight starts.
A suspensory injury at the end of last spring threatened to end his career but again, Baraqiel endured.
He fought back from the brink to win the Group 1 Moir Stakes earlier this month and now Friday’s Manikato Stakes and next month’s Everest beckon.
For Fellows, it’s not so much about what Baraqiel wins, but what he represents, that gives him so much satisfaction.
“Baraqiel’s story and Troy’s story are very similar,” he said.
“Troy was lucky to survive the accident, he was airlifted to the Alfred and he spent eight days in there and another 100 days in rehab.”
“His pelvis was broken in four places, he’s still got a stainless steel chain holding his pelvis together and he’s got a plate in his back.”
“He could’ve sat back for the rest of his life, not done anything, got on the drink or something like that, but he went back to work and he went back to playing footy.”
“It’s a good inspirational story like Baraqiel that, when things are going bad, there’s always hope.”
“Horses and people are very similar and in hard situations, they can fight back.”
“Baraqiel was down and out, he was finished more than once, but he came back, kept fighting and won a Group 1.”
Troy and his wife Lucy will be trackside to watch Baraqiel chase a second Group 1 win in the Manikato Stakes.
Fellows will be watching from home with Charles, his five-year-old grandson, and Bonnie, his seven-year-old granddaughter.
He knows Baraqiel can beat the odds again, just like Troy.
