SHE wasn't the prettiest yearling and she wasn't on the top of the shopping list, but when Ashlee Grives first laid eyes on the filly who would be named Ameretto she still saw something she liked.
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It began what was to be an association the Bathurst trainer, driver and owner will forever hold dear.
It is why the decision just prior to Christmas to put Ameretto down after the star mare was unable to recover from colic and intenstinal issues was so heartbreaking.
"It was really difficult ... unfortunately it was just unlucky, it was just one of those things," Grives, with the emotion clear to hear in her voice, told John Tapp's harness racing podcast.
After being purchased for just $3,500 at the 2013 Bathurst Gold Crown Yearling Sale, Ameretto went on to win 27 of her 70 starts, 17 of them with Grives in the gig.
The highlight of her many triumphs was victory in the Group 1 Queen Of The Pacific in May, 2018. It was her 66th career start.
But Grives enjoyed the entire journey she and her husband and fellow owner Ryan had with Ameretto.
"I didn't actually have her marked, she more just grabbed my eye before they entered the ring," she said of that moment when first seeing the Million Dollar Cam x Eyes Of Courage filly at the Bathurst sale.
"She probably wasn't the prettiest horse, she was quite long in the barrel but quite short-legged, she was not built wonderful at the time.
"But I don't know, there was just something about the way she walked, really clean.
"She took us on a ride that we never ever expected when we bought her that day.
"She was just such a professional. She was a funny little mare, quirky and silly things bothered her ... but when the gear went on and she went in the gig, she really was just a little professional from day one.
"She just did exactly what you asked ... she just developed that will to win and she just had a massive heart."
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It was massive heart that Ameretto showed both with Grives in the gig and then later in her career when relocated to Kerryn Manning's stable in Victoria.
It was part of the reason Grives took her time to ensure Ameretto had recovered from a suspensory ligament strain that saw her spelled after the 2018 Victoria Cup. As it turned out, that was to be the mare's final race.
She had three solid trial runs at Bathurst and the Grives' planned to give the star mare her comeback run at Menangle. But poor air quality due to the bushfires in area saw the owners twice opt to scratch Ameretto rather than risk running her in those conditions.
Soon after Grives noticed what she thought was a minor colic issue. It turned out it was much more serious.
"She presented with just mild colic at the time and I treated her ... I haven't had any trouble with horses with colic, because we see them three-four times a day you usually get on top of it quite early if you do spot a horse with colic," she said.
"She was mild but she probably just didn't responded to that treatment at all really which was odd and I was a little bit concerned and that's when we decided to get veterinary advice."
Scans at the Agnes Banks Equine Clinic revealed Ameretto was suffering from intussusception, a condition relating to an intestinal blockage.
Two operations followed to try and rectify the problem and ease the mare's discomfort, but despite the best efforts of the veterinary staff, she was still in pain.
It led to the tough decision to put the star mare down.
