As the owners of miRunners colt, Saganaki, made their way along the M1 to Wyong Creek the same thought popped into everyone’s mind: what an incredible day for a visit to the country! Perfect sunshine, green paddocks, welcoming staff and a colt on his best behaviour made sure this visit would stay long in the memory.

Saganaki was ready and waiting in his stall for owners, as patiently as Shannon Betts, owner of Emeran Park, had ever seen him. He was more than happy for owners to come and say hello, give him a scratch and show some affection in return with nibbles on their outstretched arms.

As everyone milled around the horse, it was a great chance to say meet some fellow owners, soak up the scenery and grab a coffee before Saganaki started his parade.

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Only an arm’s length away, Saganaki was being led up and down the trot up track. You could see his thicker winter coat, how his muscles casually moved him along, feel the thud of his walk and notice how he loves to lead his walker with the lead constantly in his mouth.

After a few turns on the track Shannon then welcomed us to her farm and gave the owners as much information as they could digest about Saganaki – or “Bluey” as the Colt is fondly referred to by the staff at Emeran Park. They have felt a connection to him since he first arrived as a youngster and was regularly seen in the paddocks herding the other yearlings: he would move them where he wanted and even give them a nip to hurry them up.

You can hear the passion and honesty in Shannon’s voice as she tells owners “our job is to look after him” because “happy race horses perform better and function better”. She then explained that being constantly nourished and treated well is how you begin making a happy horse.

Shannon pointed out to us just how much Saganaki has grown, saying he has a lot more leg under him. As he continues to grow Shannon is looking forward to seeing him come up in the front, lose his “high bum”, strengthen more in the chest and “thicken up a bit”.

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She talked about looking at Saganaki’s joints and tracking his growth t complement the holistic approach he will experience towards the end of this spell as he returns to work in his pre prep. Saganaki will experience flat work, jumps and trail work as well as working on the treadmill, in the pool and back at the track. Never will it be just in one direction, around a track.

After the chat with Shannon came the chance to see some more horses on the treadmill and AQUAgym – a water filled treadmill.

Although the AQUAgym is predominantly known for rehab purposes, the standard treadmill can be used as a safe conditioning tool that allows for exercise at exactly the intensity needed for improvement, on a cushioned safe surface, and where the horses can be closely observed by trainers.

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The group then split into two with some owners having their portraits taken with Saganaki while others quizzed Shannon and miRunners Founder and Executive Director, Steven Brown: hearing more about the miRunners concept and how it was allowing everyday Australians a chance to be a part of the racehorse ownership experience.

With Saganaki’s impeccable behaviour it was time to let the lad run in the paddock and that is exactly what he did. In fact, he nearly gave Shannon a heart attack! See why in video below as Saganaki’s shows-off his impressive turn of speed.

Then sadly it was all over until the next visit.