Fays Delight brought a smile to the face of her 98-year-old owner on Friday night

Unfortunately for the 98-year-old horse owner, he was unable to watch his prized mare win last Friday at Dubbo.

Running in the Western Plains Granite Pace (2120m), Fays Delight ($8.50) was impressive on her home track and won in a thrilling finish down the outside.

While a strong crowd was at Dubbo Showground, Shanks was absent due to being in hospital after falling ill recently.

He wasn't going to miss the race though and sat up in bed to witness the victory.

"Unfortunately, he is in hospital at the moment but he is on the mend I think," his son Robert said.

"It's not that flash, it's won a couple of races but it's a fairly mediocre horse.

"We've kept it in work because it gives him an interest."

Named after Robert's late mother and Jack's wife, the mare's win at Dubbo was her second career victory, with the other coming at Bathurst back in April 2022.

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Having now bred horses for almost 50 years, the Shanks family's interest in harness racing has been a big part of their lives.

"We named it after my mother, she was the one who was keen on horses," Robert said.

"Dad grew up working draft horses as a young bloke and has had an interest all his life.

"In a mid-life crisis when mum and dad were in their 40s and we'd left home they started buying and breeding trots.

"Mum was the backbone in that, she did all the nurturing and all of that stuff."

Robert believes the mare is the perfect way to keep his mother's legacy going.

"She always had a passion for horses and was a keen rider when she was younger," he said.

"It's the last horse we are going to breed and we named it after mum."

Set to leave the hospital any day now, the elder Shanks keeps regular contact with the Turnbull family and Emma, in particular, who drove the win on Friday.

"It's an interest for him and he along with Emma Turnbull have developed a pretty good friendly relationship," Robert said.

"They talk two or three times a week about what the horse is doing even if it is having a spell.

"She will still ring him up and let him know what the horse is doing.

"It's an interest for a bloke who isn't losing his marbles but doesn't get out of the house much anymore although he has been active around the farm over the last few months.

"It's just unfortunate that he couldn't be there the other night. He has seen the video replay about 20 times."

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