'Robyn's fairly bullish about him' - horse named after Scottish rugby legend Doddie Weir is a live Brocklesby contender

Doddie’s Impact, a horse named after Scottish rugby legend Doddie Weir, who died in November from Motor Neurone Disease (MND), will make his debut in Saturday’s turf season opener at Doncaster.

Ownership group Cross Channel Racing has teamed up with the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, a charity set up in June 2017 a year after Weir, who earned 61 caps for Scotland as well as representing the British and Irish Lions, was diagnosed with MND.

Doddie’s Impact is trained by Robyn Brisland and will run in Pertemps Network EBF Brocklesby Stakes (1.50), a race in which Jiffy Boy finished third for connections last year.

Jiffy Boy was named by former Welsh rugby star and commentator Jonathan Davies. Stablemate Howzak, a five-time winner for Brisland and Cross Channel, is partially owned by England cricket’s test match opener Zak Crawley.

However, the latest sporting star to be idolised in equine form will have special significance as it is hoped that Doddie’s Impact will do just as his name suggests and help raise awareness and funds for trials which could help medical professionals step closer to a cure for MND.

“One of his missions towards the back end of the last 18 months of Doddie’s life was to leave some impact behind,” said Cross Channel’s racing director Karl Pearson.

“Myself and one of the owners at Cross Channel know one of the guys that works for Kenny Logan [Weir’s former Scotland teammate and friend] so we invited him down three or four months ago to come and see what we were doing and he really enjoyed it.

“The sport is a conduit. Last year we had the success with Jiffy Boy, which was a horse Jonathan Davies named, so the rugby connection was already there.

“We said if you want to do it, we’ve got a forward horse that's going to the Brocklesby and explained it’s quite a big prestigious race at the start of the season. They were really keen.”

The Cross Channel Racing silks will be represented by Doddie's Impact in the domestic turf season opener at Doncaster on SaturdayCredit: Edward Whitaker

The son of Pearl Secret was bought for £6,000 as a yearling by Brisland and on his Brocklesby prospects, Pearson said: “From day one, he was very forward, he’s very much like Jiffy.

“Robyn thinks this fella is exactly the same mould, although he’s got a bit more body to him. I think Robyn’s fairly bullish about him so hopefully he can do himself justice and finish in the first half of the field. We want soft ground, so it’s coming in our favour. All the signs are pretty good.”

Beep Beep Burrow, the nickname of rugby league legend Rob Burrow, who is living with MND,  is in training with Jedd O’Keeffe and Pearson hopes that the collaborative effort between Logan Sports Marketing, who represent the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, can help further raise awareness for MND through racing.

“We’re doing it because we want to contribute to the charity,” he said. “Obviously it’s a great cause and we’ve come up with a very special arrangement where 50 per cent of anything raised goes back to the charity.

“There’s going to be a huge push from the charity on encouraging their members to come along on Saturday. All being well, it’s the start of a long partnership.”

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