WHEN Runhappy landed the Breeders’ Cup Sprint last autumn, the headlines belonged to Maria Borell, the previously unheralded trainer who had wowed television audiences with her fresh outlook, not to mention a breathtaking tattoo of 1989 Kentucky Derby winner Sunday Silence that adorned her upper back.

She also ran Runhappy without Lasix, which immediately made her something of an icon among racefans on this side of the Atlantic. When she tweeted that she had been sacked less than a day after that famous victory, there were few who didn’t rush to her defence, even though the facts of the case had not fully emerged.

It was very easy to sympathise with the vivacious Borell, especially as Runhappy’s owner, Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale, has a reputation for being capricious in his choice of trainer, with much bigger names than Borell losing his horses over the years, and the fact that the horse was moved back to the care of McIngvale’s sister-in-law. Soon afterwards, Borell launched a legal case against the McIngvales claiming 10% of stake money won by Runhappy, which saw sympathy for her grow on the whole. For most watching from afar, the 32-year-old trainer was the victim in a tawdry exercise orchestrated by a jealous owner who resented the attention she garnered.

NEGLECT

Time and perspective has altered that view, and it transpires that even as she welcomed back her star at Keeneland, she was already the subject of allegations of neglect of property and horses at a rented farm in Kentucky, with the owner of the farm, Kara Harrison, driven to post video footage of conditions on social media. Even then, the response from the vocal minority was to attack Harrison for trying to steal Borell’s limelight.

It has taken some time for the full story to be revealed, and extensive research (notably from Margaret Ransom) has shown that Borell and her father Chuck have enjoyed a decidedly chequered history in pursuing her dream to become a trainer, with revelations of a number of yards abandoned with bills outstanding and complaints from grooms tasked with looking after the horses that they were left unpaid and unable to ensure the horses had adequate food and bedding.

Eventually, state and local officials stepped in to tackle continued reports of neglect, with the news that Chuck Borell had been arrested on charges of second-degree cruelty to animals, and an arrest warrant is outstanding for his daughter.

It’s possible to argue that the Borells wouldn’t be in this position had Maria received a share of the money won by Runhappy, but it’s very likely that claim to that purse money is spurious, since she was seemingly paid a generous enough retainer with bonuses in lieu of her share of any prizemoney, and it’s important to note that the allegations against her predate her employment by Jim McIngvale in any case.

This has turned into an almost tragic affair, and merely serves to highlight how quickly we can all jump to the wrong conclusions when not in possession of the facts.

To what extent Maria Borell is culpable for the damage that has been done remains to be seen, of course, and just as we shouldn’t have put her on a pedestal so quickly, so it should be that we don’t look to destroy her now, until events take their full course. In a story which reads more like a Dick Francis novel than a news story, there may yet be a final twist.