'Hole in my heart' - owner-trainer Jonathan Haynes mourns Beyondtemptation death

Jonathan Haynes says he has been left with "a hole in my heart" following the death of Beyondtemptation, who along with his partner Kay, he bred, foaled, owned and trained.

The 11-year-old suffered a fatal fall at Hexham on Tuesday, a track where she picked up seven of her 15 career wins. She became a popular mare in the north, making 84 appearances at nine different tracks.

Beyondtemptation's dam, Tempted, was bought by Haynes for £500 and became the trainer's first winner in August 1996. Following her retirement from racing in 1998, the mare was covered by And Beyond, a stallion based a few miles away from Haynes's yard in Brampton, Cumbria, and foaled Beyondtemptation in 2008. Both will now be buried beside one another.

Haynes, who broke his back as a 19-year-old conditional after falling at Southwell in 1980 and has been in a wheelchair ever since, said: "There's a big hole in our hearts today, we've been there since the start. We took her to the stallion, my partner Kay foaled her, broke her in and the rest is history.

Jonathan Haynes at home with BeyondtemptationCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

"She was a moderate mare but very consistent. She did not know when she was beaten and no horse could jump at the pace she jumped. She'd run her heart out for you as long as she was fit and well. She was quirky and difficult to train, but we looked after her as if she was one of our children so we are absolutely devastated.

"She was only a pony [in size] but she was a sweetheart. She wouldn't nip you, she would kick other horses, but was a joy to be around and she'd go anywhere following the quad bike. They say once in a lifetime you get these special horses, and she was ours."

Beyondtemptation was in foal when suffering the fatal fall in the 2m handicap hurdle despite having previously suffered from fertility problems.

Haynes continued: "She had never been lame until last year but she pulled a check ligament, so we retired her and sent her to Kayf Tara. She never got in foal so she came back with her leg healed and was full of beans so we put her back in training. She finished second and won again twice.

"We sent her to stud again four weeks ago, she was only there three days but she got covered first time by Mondialiste and was scanned in foal last Tuesday. Her retirement was coming but she just loved to race."

Haynes has received plenty of messages of support since, and added: "She wore her heart on her sleeve and that's why she picked up such a following. I've had loads of messages and tremendous response so I would like to thank everyone.

James Armstrong, clerk of the course at Hexham, said: “Everyone at Hexham is really saddened by the news – we all know Jonathan and Kay really well and we feel deeply sorry for them.

"Beyondtemptation has been a wonderful mare for so many years and loved it at Hexham. She had a great front-running style and was as genuine as you could get, she is a big loss to everyone."

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