Laura Kenny might be a familiar name to see at the front of races at the Lee Valley and Manchester velodromes, but there could soon be a Laura Kenny picking up wins at the likes of Epsom, Ascot, and Newmarket…
That’s because as well as the Laura Kenny who’s pretty handy on two wheels, there’s now a Laura Kenny with four hooves after a thoroughbred racehorse was named after the four-time Olympic champion.
Understandably, trainer Harry Dunlop, who has recently taken up cycling himself and plans to take on Prudential RideLondon this summer, wanted to use Kenny’s maiden name of Trott, but the cyclist reportedly wanted the horse to have her married name, with Dunlop happy to oblige.
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“She’s just been picked by Team GB again and we thought it would be a good idea to name the horse after a cyclist like her,” Dunlop told the Racing Post.
“We’d like to get Laura down to the yard and I’ve communicated with her agent over this. It would be lovely if we could get her here as that’s the whole point of our cycling syndicate, coming to see the horses and going cycling.”
The horse has been leased to a syndicate called Velocity Racing, whose members share passions for both cycling and horse racing.
Kenny – the horse – is the offspring of Dutch Art and Lottie Dod, another horse named after a famous sportswoman, with Dunlop already tipping her for success having seen her performances in training.
“She’s a sharp sort who’s well bred and going nicely. She’s by Dutch Art out of a mare who was third in the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes, so she’s got a pedigree. We’re really pleased with her at the moment.”
Dunlop also said that he hoped “the combination of pedalpower and horsepower will see both Laura Kennys in the winners enclosure.”
