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| Staff Writer |
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Highfield Princess' death deeply saddens Jason Hart, her jockey for four Group 1 victories. Trainers John and Sean Quinn, along with owner-breeder John Fairley, announced her passing due to an "inoperable fracture" suffered in a stall accident last week.
“I’m gutted,” Hart said. “Sean rang me and told me what had happened and it’s not the way you ever want the story to end, especially for her. For the boss, Sean, John and his family it’s so sad, but she reached out to a wider audience too; she was more than just for us, and lots of people rolled along with her story and were captured by it. She’s irreplaceable, it’s just gut-wrenching.”
Hart said: “She took me to places that I never thought I would go. She came into my career at a time when I needed a good horse and she was always there for me. Whenever you needed her most, she would be there with the right performance at the right time.
“I had a proper connection with her as I rode her a lot at home as well as at the races and what I’ll remember most about her, what describes her best, is that she was kind. She was kind in the stable, she was kind to ride and just a pleasure to have anything to do with.”
Highfield Princess went from winning a low-rated handicap to claiming victories at the highest level, notably securing three Group 1 wins within five weeks at Deauville, York, and the Curragh in 2022. Her journey to success, along with her enduring career and charming personality, made her passing even more difficult to accept, according to Hart.
“What stands out most for me about her in her career was when she won the Nunthorpe,” he said. “She was brilliant in that race and afterwards, and remember she was a five-furlong sprinter, she paraded back in front of the stands and didn’t bat an eyelid. She went along and took everything in, she knew it was all for her and accepted it kindly and willingly.
“People who never necessarily knew her felt that they did and were part of what was happening, which is why she was special.”