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Diamond Warrior Cheats Death to Compete at Thoroughbred Makeover

October 9, 2018
Posted by Erica Larson

Meet Diamond Warrior, an off-track Thoroughbred who defied the odds to compete at the 2018 Retired Racehorse Project Thoroughbred Makeover.

Topics: Bone & Joint Problems, Horse Care, Injuries & Wounds, Lameness, Sports Medicine, Thoroughbred, Welfare and Industry, Wound Management

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Diamond Warrior (War Pass - Diamonds Or Gold, Johannesburg) is a survivor, owner/trainer Luanne Johnson says. | Photo: Erica Larson/The Horse

When hunter/jumper trainer and rider Luanne Johnson went with a client to look at a horse for sale, she didn’t think she’d be coming home with an emaciated Thoroughbred of her own. She didn’t think he’d nearly die, and she surely didn’t think he’d be competing at the Retired Racehorse Project’s Thoroughbred Makeover with fewer months of training than you can count on one hand.

But, things don’t always go as planned.

Johnson, an experienced off-track Thoroughbred trainer, first met Diamond Warrior (now called “Bonez”) in September 2017. The 2011 gelding by War Pass, out of Diamonds Or Gold (Johannesburg) made 19 starts on the racetrack, winning four, and earned more than $52,000 before making his last start at Charles Town Races, in West Virginia, in January 2017 and finding himself in rough shape thereafter. His fortune was soon to change, however

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Written by:

Erica Larson

Erica Larson, former news editor for The Horse, holds a degree in journalism with an external specialty in equine science from Michigan State University in East Lansing. A Massachusetts native, she grew up in the saddle and has dabbled in a variety of disciplines including foxhunting, saddle seat, and mounted games. Currently, Erica competes in eventing with her OTTB, Dorado.