Why an Australian Guineas win would put an extra spring in Deanna Pope’s many steps

The stakes will be high, the competition is legitimate and Deanna Pope will be watching.

She will be hoping the Australian Guineas doesn’t turn out to be the race that everyone expects it to be – one that will be dominated by the three favourites.

Victorious Spirit, an inexperienced three-year-old, will contest the Guineas, representing generational racetrack success that traces to her father Des’s belief that the 1987 Cox Plate winner Rubiton would leave a lasting legacy within the breeding industry.

Rubiton has been an influential horse for the Pope family as the sire of many of their best. None more so than Innovation Girl, twice placed at Group 1 level to complement multiple stakes wins.

It’s no surprise he figures in the pedigree of Victorious Spirit.

Trained by Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman, Victorious Spirit is by the Darley stallion Ghaiyyath, the same sire as Observer.

At this point in their careers, that’s where the comparison ends.

Observer is a colt with a Victoria Derby win alongside his name and with the promise of more Group 1 success to come after a first-up victory.

Victorious Spirit is getting there after being introduced to his trade away from the spring spotlight earlier in the season, before filling a minor placing behind Observer in the Autumn Stakes.

But despite the difficulty of the challenge confronting Victorious Spirit at Flemington on Saturday, Pope is preparing herself for one much larger. A feat of endurance.

She is counting down the days until she sets out from Melbourne on a 750km walk to Adelaide, raising money for people living with Epidermolysis Bullosa. 

As Victorious Spirit runs for Guineas glory and potentially a timely update to a pedigree for a close relation being offered at the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale, Pope will be walking for a purpose, for families and for her late brother, who lived with the condition.

“People keep going, ‘are you mad’?” Pope says. “And I’m like, ‘yeah, I’m mad probably’.”

Madness or not, she has already logged more than 800,000 training steps, walking up to 40km in a single day and averaging between 18km and 30km five times a week.

“I’m not an athlete, so this is a bigger challenge because it’s something I’ve never done and I’m very much out of my comfort zone,” she says.

The cause is deeply personal.

Deanna, alongside other members of her family, was diagnosed with Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB Simplex).

Epidermolysis Bullosa, known as EB, is a rare and incurable genetic condition that leaves skin so fragile it can blister and tear at the slightest friction.

Sufferers are often described as “butterfly children” because their skin is as delicate as wings.

Severe forms can cause chronic wounds, infections and internal complications, and for many families the daily routine involves hours of bathing, dressing and re-bandaging.

There is no cure, and while research is ongoing in Australia and overseas, much of the immediate burden falls on families who manage pain relief, dressings, and infection control.

That is where DEBRA Australia steps in, providing support, advocacy and funding for services for Australians living with EB.

Pope became involved with DEBRA after her brother died in 2022.

“When our brother passed away, we made a donation to DEBRA in his name,” she says.

Soon after, she was asked to serve as the Victorian ambassador and later joined the board, discovering firsthand the financial strain on a charity supporting families with high and ongoing medical needs.

“We’re a small charity, we have small numbers of people, but their needs are very high, so every year our costs are always looming and we’re trying to keep up,” she says.

The idea for the walk came in a flash of inspiration, drawn from three brothers who rowed continuously across the Pacific Ocean from Peru to Australia.

“I was watching one of the morning shows … and I was like, we need something big,” she says.

“I actually stood there and said, ‘I’m going to walk to Adelaide by myself’, and then I started telling people, and then it just started happening.”

What sounded simple quickly became a logistical marathon of its own, involving councils, police, accommodation providers and a rotating support crew.

“I keep saying to people now, ‘I just thought I was walking’, and now I think twalking is the easy part,” she says.

The thoroughbred community, in which Pope and her family have long been immersed as valued breeders and owners, has always rallied behind her.

She has hosted an annual Bubbles and Butterflies luncheon, but this time, racing is going above and beyond, offering donations, support, and company along the way. 

Trainers, owners and syndicators have pledged $500 donations to have her wear their silks on sections of the walk that will depart the MCG on March 18 and finish at Adelaide’s Hindmarsh Square on April 8.

The walk will average about 35km a day, and Pope will carry seven pairs of shoes in anticipation of the blisters that EB can bring without warning.

“I’ve done some days and I’ve got no blisters and I’ve done other days where I can just feel them coming within an hour of walking,” she says. “There’s no rhyme or reason when or where they come up.”

Her four sons will join her for some parts of the walk, a gesture she hopes will underline the lesson at the heart of her journey.

“When you’re lucky in life, it’s nice to be able to give back to people who need it,” she says.

With more than $12,000 already raised and a goal of $50,000 in sight, Pope wants her trek to become a watershed moment for DEBRA and the families it supports.

“I really hope so,” she says. “We don’t get government support, it’s all fundraising, grants and donations, so if this can make a difference, that would be amazing.”

The walk promises to be exhausting and unpredictable. Pope is undeterred. 

“I’m so excited to do it and to have everyone with me,” she says. “The community, my friends, the racing people, even my boys … it’s going to be something so good.”

To follow, support and donate to Deanna Pope’s journey, visit her EB Butterfly Walk page here.