It is virtually unheard of to have a racehorse galloping next to their daughter, but Snow Leopardess, who caught the nation’s imagination in the run up to the 2022 Grand National, and her filly, Red Panda, have proven that it is possible.
Snow Leopardess, who is owned by Andrew Fox-Pitt, son of William Fox-Pitt’s mother Marietta, was filmed working on her trainer Charlie Longsdon’s Cotswold gallops earlier this week. And cantering alongside her was Red Panda, who is a three-year-old.
Snow Leopardess, who is 10, was bred by Marietta – and is in fact a fifth-generation home-bred. She has enjoyed a fantastic career in National Hunt racing, so far clocking up over £225,000 in prize money and winning nine of her 20 races.
Over hurdles, she won the mares’ final at Newbury and in October 2017, she won a conditions hurdle at Auteuil. But she was injured in the lorry on the way home. After that she went to Alice and William Fox-Pitt for rehab and Paul Roche had her in Ireland, swimming her in the sea off a pier. But the injury recurred and she was put in foal to Sir Percy. When she was being brought back to fitness after giving birth, the resulting filly – Red Panda – used to trot loose alongside her.
Charlie Longsdon says of Red Panda, who is also owned by Andrew Fox-Pitt: “She certainly has a lot to live up to if she is going to be anything like her mum, Snow Leopardess!
“She is a big, backward girl who will take plenty of time to get to the racecourse. She needs as much education now as possible as it will bring her on a huge amount. It is amazing how quickly some learn but I cannot envisage her getting to the racecourse until next autumn. However, you never know, and if she takes to the training regime like her mother it could be next spring.”
Meet the Fox-Pitts’ grey mare with a ‘lethal’ buck, who is aiming for Cheltenham Festival glory after having a foal – Snow Leopardess
‘This is the dream’: Fox-Pitt family’s home-bred wins over the Grand National fences
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