Marvel Fab’s Cowboy notches up 100th placing in start 158 ahead of forced retirement

Fab’s Cowboy will bow out in a race specifically put on for him at Longreach later this month, after he landed his 100th placing running second at Charleville on Saturday.

Fab’s Cowboy will have his final start later this month.

Racing marvel Fab’s Cowboy will head into retirement at the end of the month with another feather in his cap after notching his 100th top three placing at Charleville on Saturday.

The 158-start veteran will have his final run in a race specifically tailored for him at Longreach on July 27, with connections keen to see him out with a bang in what could be one of the biggest prizemoney cheques he has won.

While he has more than $440,000 in prizemoney to his name, Fab’s Cowboy has never collected more than the $14,350 he won for running second in the country Cups Challenge at Doomben in 2018.

In a boosted 1200m Open Plate at Longreach, the winner stands to win $13,700 — more than double the usual non-TAB winner’s cheque.

Brave as always at possibly 2nd last career start, Australia’s most winning racehorse Fab’s Cowboy 2nd Charleville for first time rider claimer Samantha Zoljan.
Sits on amazing 54 wins with only 3 weeks left in season.
Les Baker Memorial today, nephew Wayne trained winner Parko. pic.twitter.com/ugT2UyqKXp

— Bruce Clark (@snowyclark) July 6, 2024

• 52 wins! Fab's Cowboy breaks modern-day winning record

“If you go through his starts, his biggest prizemoney cheque was for running second in a country cups race in Brisbane, everything else has been around $10,000 or less,” co owner Paul Currin said.

“He got the monkey off his back on Saturday, it was his 100th top three finish.

“He was stuck on 49 wins for more than a year there for a while, so he wasn’t stuck on 99 top threes for quite as long.

“He will go to Longreach for his last start.”

Currin, who owns the fan favourite with his cousin Elizabeth, famously broke in Fab’s Cowboy during the middle of a heatwave which almost saw the tough as nails horse not make it to a racetrack.

Since then, he has enjoyed an almost nine-year long career with Barcaldine trainer Bevan Johnson, with Currin saying not having him racing come the start of the new season would take some getting used to.

Fab’s Cowboy notched up his 100th top three placing on Saturday.

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Australian rules of racing state a horse must be retired once it turns 13.

“It will be a bit different in a few weeks,” he said.

“It is what it is with him finishing up, I don’t get too caught up in it all, but it is a shame because he is still going so well.

“I have had a few other horses, no one has ever owned a horse like him.

“There hasn’t been one like him so I won’t be expecting to have another one like it, it’s quite incredible he has stayed healthy for so long.

“That in itself is a huge effort, let alone winning during that time.

“It’s quite funny really, he is giving these five-year-old horses six, seven, eight kilo advantages and still chasing them.”

Originally published as Marvel Fab’s Cowboy notches up 100th placing in start 158 ahead of forced retirement