It's not a fairy tale anyone would embrace, but the ending of this one certainly fits the bill.
As an elated Alana Smart savoured the thrill of victory on Saturday, her three sons - Zac, Connor and Harry - studiously stood alongside her.
But a member of the family who had religiously
attended previous Kelt Capital Racedays, 10-year-old Molly, was conspicuous by her absence.
The youngest was fulfilling her duty as a flowergirl at a family friend's wedding in Invercargill about the time Vosne Romanee crossed the line of the 2040m premier race at 4.45pm.
"We've had a lot of bad luck," Alana Smart told SportToday.
Her daughter was seriously ill in 2004 after undergoing surgery for fluid in her brain.
"She fell asleep for seven weeks. We didn't know whether she was going to survive.
"The neurosurgeons didn't call it a coma, but Sleeping Beauty syndrome," Alana said. When Molly came out of her slumber she had to learn to do everything again, "to talk, eat and walk, because she was in a wheelchair," after they took her to Auckland for rehabilitation following consultation at Wellington Hospital.
Her condition took its toll on the Smarts who "took a step out" of Alana Estate, a vineyard they had established.
But Molly has bounced back and the Smarts are back at the helm of their business again in Martinborough.
