Popular blind owner refuses to let impressive Benie Des Dieux worry him before Saturday’s Cheltenham trial
No one likes to be the bearer of bad news. Alas, it fell to the Guardian on Thursday to inform Andrew Gemmell, owner of the champion staying hurdler Paisley Park, that Benie Des Dieux had just hosed up in a race in
Ireland, looking like a very serious challenger indeed for his horse’s crown.
Even over the phone, one can tell it is not what Gemmell wanted to hear. But nor does it come as a surprise to the man whose enthusiasm for the game, unhindered by the fact that he has been blind since birth, has made him one of racing’s most popular owners.