Paynter Continues to Defy the Odds

For those who have been concerned about Paynter, the winner of the Haskell who underwent surgery at New Bolton Center on October 3, it has been nothing short of a miraculous recovery! The plan is for him to leave New Bolton today or tomorrow for Fair Hill Equine Therapy Center to rehab for a few weeks and then ship to Kentucky where he will be based at WinStar Farm in Lexington.

This horse has overcome such odds: first colitis, then laminitis and then surgery to remove an infected abscess on his colon. It seems he has an amazing strong heart coupled with the drive to live and heal.

Paynter's owners, the Zayat family, have been incredibly forthcoming with fans, keeping them abreast through twitter, every step of the way.

"He's an absolute miracle, he has defied all odds," Ahmed Zayat said. "It has been unbelievable peaks and valleys with him. He has won all his battles; he's so resilient, this is a horse I'd like to model my life on, the motto that one can never give up.

"Now I understand when they talk about Thoroughbreds having the heart, courage, and determination to never, ever give up or lose—he defines that," Zayat said. "I'm so genuinely happy he continues to recovery. This has been going on for us for a long time, monitoring the situation on almost an hourly basis."

The first objective is to get the colt well and then perhaps let him return to the track.

"It is my wish and desire from God that he would be healthy enough to go back and race," the owner continued. "I'm so happy he's alive and well, the vets and specialists see absolutely no reason why he shouldn't be back doing what he loves. But I want to let the horse tell me he wants to go back to the track.

"Right now our first objective is to get him back to a familiar surrounding. We're putting him on a special diet to help him gain back weight, and our goal is to make him happy and comfortable, continue to monitor him, and be very attentive to his needs. He'll tell us when he's ready to go back in training. I'm not going to push him; we'll take it day by day."

What a remarkable story so far!!!