SNOHOMISH – Horseracing enthusiasts are closing in on the owners of a homeless horse, hoping to keep the thoroughbred off the auction block next month.
Now they have a name and a paper trail, thanks to a tattoo in the dark bay gelding’s mouth.
The mystery horse is Flying Algonquin, a 7-year-old retired race horse from British Columbia. Foaled in 1997, the steed raced six times over three seasons, all at Hastings Park race track in Vancouver, B.C.
The well-groomed thoroughbred was found about a month ago wandering down a road near Lake Stevens. A Lake Stevens resident stabled the horse until Thursday, when he was turned over to the Marysville Livestock Auction.
Flying Algonquin – whose nickname is Stretch – won once and had a second-place finish, earning a total of $8,160 in his racing career for his owners in Aldergrove, B.C.
In late 2002 or early 2003, the Canadian couple sold the thoroughbred to a Snohomish couple as a non-racehorse, said Ralph Vacca, general manager of the Washington Thoroughbred Breeders Association.
In trying to track down Flying Algonquin’s owners, Vacca on Monday called the previous owners, who were “very concerned” that he could be auctioned to the highest bidder, and described him as “a neat horse, and beautiful” whom they had loved.
But not to worry.
Even if Flying Algonquin isn’t claimed in time and is sold at auction, he won’t end up as pet food.
“There’s no chance that this horse will end up in any glue factory,” Vacca said. “If it does go to auction, everybody in the state is going to be there. I’d like to have the concessions for the hot dogs and the Cokes and the beer.”
Since the horse’s plight became known, telephones at Vacca’s office and the livestock auction have been ringing off the hoof.
Julie Edmondson, the auction manager, estimated early Monday she’d had about 50 calls, and Vacca’s phone continued to ring all day.
Even though they think they know the owners’ identities, the couple will have to prove ownership, either with registration papers or a bill of sale. Auction officials will confirm the horse’s markings and the tattoo.
He won’t be turned over to just anyone who wants to claim him, Edmondson said.
After the tattoo led them to the breeders where Flying Algonquin was born, they led Vacca to Loren Mitchell, the racing secretary at Hastings Park, who provided information on the horse’s racing history.
So far, the Snohomish couple haven’t returned calls or tried to claim the horse, so authorities don’t know if they still own him or sold him to someone else.
They also did not return a call Monday from The Herald.
Snohomish police had no reports of missing horses that fit the well-groomed, shoeless horse, so he remains a ward of the state.
The next auction where he could be put up for sale is Feb. 3.
Word about his plight spread quickly among the horse set, including breeders, 4-H clubs, two national organizations that rescue retired race horses from slaughter and other horse lovers.
“The breeders are going to stay on track. They are very interested in what happens to the horse. We’re going to have a lot of people who are interested in this horse,” Edmondson said.
“I’ve had several people who said they were going to come and claim him,” she said.
The horse will be returned to its rightful owner, once ownership is proved, Edmondson said. If there’s a dispute, it’s up to the state to determine who gets the retired runner.
“That horse is going to find somebody who is willing to pay a good sum of money and cherish and love (him). And the story of the horse that was found wandering will probably take on a life of its own,” Vacca said.
Reporter Cathy Logg: 425-339-3437 or logg@heraldnet.com.
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