Old ‘gentleman’ shows his class

By Kath Gannaway
NARBETHONG thoroughbred Fabish was more than a crowd favourite at Healesville races on Sunday: he was a hailed as a Black Saturday equine hero.
The former thoroughbred racehorse and clerk of the course was applauded by the crowd as he and trainer Alan Evett rode the length of the track in the lead up to the Fabish Open Trophy.
The 14-year-old’s appearance at Healesville was a fitting commemoration of the Black Saturday tragedy.
As the firestorm descended on Narbethong last year it raced through Tarnpirr Farm, the magnificent 500-acre horse property owned by trainer Cliff Brown and his father Don.
With 42 horses on the property the job of rounding them all up and getting them to safety was impossible.
Mr Evett doesn’t hesitate when asked if they were lucky to escape with their lives.
“Without doubt – we were enormously lucky,” he said.
“We sheltered in the concrete and steel stable with 21 horses in 10 boxes and, thankfully, the 42 horses on the farm on the night all escaped unscathed,” he said.
“Fabish had a little bit to do with that,” he adds.
The grey gelding, who was prepared by premier trainer Mick Price during his racing career, put what Mr Evett calls his calm instincts into practice to save seven yearlings he was ‘mentoring’ in an outer farm paddock.
Mr Evett expected a grim discovery when he went looking for the yearlings after the firestorm had passed, only to see old Fabish appear from the shadows leading the seven to safety.
“I think natural instinct is part of that, but not all horses would be able to do it – he’s a calm old gentleman,” Evett said.
Fabish and Evett rode out on to the track before an estimated crowd of 3000 people.
A minute’s silence was observed before he then led the field out for the race named in his honour.
The top-weighted jockeys in each race wore a set of specially designed “We support the Yellow Ribbon cause” colours to commemorate those affected by the bushfires.
Race club secretary and Steels Creek resident John O’Neill was himself reflecting on the events of a year ago, when he was balancing planning for the scheduled Sunday race meeting and fighting to save his home.
He said the day for him was one of mixed emotions. “I think the races helped take my mind off it,” he said. “In a way, I had to be where I was yesterday – so it was life as normal.”
He said the club was very pleased to have Mr Evett and Fabish as their guests for the day.
“Allan himself saved a lot of horses, and Fabish’s story is amazing. They were very well received,” he said.