RACING: O'Brien horse Gud Day so close to winning debut on Twitter (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Fossebridge trainer in pioneering social media initiative

11:47am Wednesday 12th September 2012 in Sport

FOSSEBRIDGE racehorse trainer Fergal O’Brien is set to become the face of the UK’s biggest free racing club for the Twitter community, as one of his horses – Gud Day – now boasts his own social media account.

By following @peopleshorse, fans can keep up with news about Gud Day, a four-year-old gelding, as well as enjoying some of the benefits of ownership including free raceday tickets, visits to the yard and the chance to represent the club at the races.

Gud Day has had 21 races including two wins when with trainer Deborah Sanderson on the Flat.

Since joining O’Brien to race over jumps, he has been second on no fewer than five occasions, the latest being on Tuesday at Worcester when racing with his new Twitter conections for the first time.

This interactive racehorse ownership experience was launched by Racing for Change in 2011, with the aim of giving online users the chance to learn more about the sport of horse racing.

The first People’s Horse was Tweet Lady, who thrilled her fans by winning twice at Kempton Park and garnered more than 2,300 followers. Through Twitter, Gud Day will be trying to emulate her success while entertaining his followers with a unique insight into his stable life, training regime and hopes before racing. And, there’s sure to be a few NOLs (Neigh Out Loud) along the way.

O’Brien, a former multi-champion point-to-point trainer, said: “Having started training professionally in 2011, it’s great to be working with Racing for Change on this initiative.

“We really value the power that social media has to promote racing and give people an insight into what goes into training a racehorse.

“Gud Day’s shown some good form in the past so I am sure that he’ll be fun to follow and, with all the updates he’ll be providing, there’s no doubt he’ll become an accomplished tweeter!”

Follow the People’s Horse and Fergal O’Brien on their Twitter accounts: @peopleshorse and @fergalobrien07.