#HORSERACING: A PIC BY MRWILL’S PRINCESS DIARIES – SEPTEMBER 2017

Is this real life?  Even a couple days after witnessing our dear PRINCESS’ (A PIC BY MRWILL) big breakthrough win, here we find ourselves still on cloud nine! Maiden no more!

We couldn’t believe our eyes as we tried multitasking cheering and snapping pics of her as she grinded her way home under amazing Luis Contreras in her first race ever race at 1 1/16 miles. Princess fought bravely to surge ahead of expensively-bred Mark Casse trainee Cosmic Ruby and Patrick Husbands.  This is one moment we’ll remember forever… unless we go senile!

Who would’ve thought after success sprinting, she’d throw a curve ball revealing that her hidden talent is running long? Okay, we know the race could have been run faster, but still. A win’s a win!

People were asking why I didn’t snap one of my signature Selfies with Princess in the Winner’s Circle and my answer simply is that I was so overcome with joy. I was ready for it, but so not!  Me forgetting to snap a Selfie for once in a my life. Imagine that! LOL

  There’s always next time right? She looks like she’s got a win or two left in her.

The overwhelming support we’ve received for Princess is humbling and we’re touched by all your messages and notes of congratulations. None of this would have been possible without the generosity and hard work of Team John Ross and Cathy Wong!

Princess and I have read every single Tweet and comment and we are so appreciative. We also want to thank all the patient bettors who keep making her the race favourite at post time. We’re so happy they finally got their reward. We’ve certainly burned enough of their money, right?

Come, let’s watch the race again.  Can you hear those loud shrieks as she crosses the finish line??!

 

The filly 3-A Pic By Mrwill BSP: 2.16 ($4) doesn't disappoint as heavy favorite in @WoodbineRacing opener and breaks thru in start No11. pic.twitter.com/08ko42Ausi

— BetfairUS (@BetfairUSA) August 27, 2017

 

While the tone of the day was celebratory on Sunday afternoon, it would prove bittersweet fittingly for our tough-luck Princess.  As you might remember, she has overcome quite a bit to be here today including battling for her life when just a yearling due to a persistent sinus infection requiring multiple operations. Above this, repeatedly she has found herself in against tough types, several who have either gone on to step-up and win at the Allowance level or gain Black Type in stakes races. She was always right there with them, just missing that punch that made her run past them. That was yesterday.

We are sad to report that Princess will be out for the rest of the season due to an injury. The silver lining is that she can be treated with some stall rest for a few months. We didn’t want to take away from the moment, but felt the timing was a bit better now to be transparent.

John & Cathy have issued the following statement to all her fans:

“We want to say thanks for all the support. It was fun to see Princess progress throughout the year and that she finally got it done! Being named after Mr. Will made it doubly-fun and we can’t wait to see her back next year. She is one tough filly and has overcome many obstacles up till today.  We always believed in her that is why we gave her the best care. She will be well cared for in her time off.”.

Our thoughts are with dear Princess on her path to wellness again and she is receiving the best care possible under Dr. Daryl Bonder of Toronto Equine Hospital, resting comfortably in her cast. We wanted so bad to celebrate with her following her win and were heartbroken we couldn’t even give her a treat to tell her she did a great job, but we promise to see her tomorrow with plenty of her favourite Fuji apples to make up for it!

While we were fine most of the afternoon, both Cathy (Princess‘ mom) and I head home when the emotions began to hit. One, we are touched how hard she has fought all year for us, but also terribly saddened how this filly can’t have it easy just for once. Her first big celebratory moment just had to be marred by a bit of tragedy.  She is our little fighter and we are moved to tears by her courage and desire to be better.  If you think she’s improved a lot at age three, just wait till you see her next year. We even have an inkling that dirt, on which she has trained so well without incident, might be better for her than Tapeta.

She’s finally getting what it’s all about!

See a slideshow of Princess’ victory (hover left and right to navigate) and our heartfelt note of gratitude below:

A note from Goddad (@mrwillwong): I will never forget today! Thank you Princess, Team John Ross (Errol M., Giovanni, Orlando, Wesley, Katy, Errol F. and Basil) and Cathy Wong, Keith Reid, Luis Contreras and all our friends and family who have cheered and continue to cheer us on! Thank you also to all the riders along the way who have given Princess an invaluable education: Emma-Jayne Wilson, Joshua Scott, Sheena Ryan, Steven Bahen and Eurico Da Silva. This filly and I are bonded by so much more than name. We might both be late bloomers, but once we get rolling, we are unstoppable! The fact that Princess has been the betting favourite so many times in her hard-knocking career speaks volumes to how well she is loved! While it is bittersweet we won’t be seeing her back at the races till next year, I will treasure today forever and am so deeply touched how tough she has fought for all of us. Humbled by all of this. I will never stop believing in the power of love and humanity. ❤ Additional photos by Emily Shields and Julie Wright.

A post shared by Princess 🍎 (@apicbymrwill) on Aug 27, 2017 at 4:42pm PDT

Victory! 👑

A post shared by Princess 🍎 (@apicbymrwill) on Aug 27, 2017 at 11:07am PDT

We appreciate so much your love and support and are confident our girl will be fit to fight next spring!  Thank you ‘priends’!

Stay in touch with Princess on Social Media as she recovers:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/apicbymrwill

Twitter: @apicbymrwill

Instagram: @apicbymrwill

(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong/Emily Shields/Julie Wright)