Right to the end Dean Logan proved as tough as some of the great horses he co-trained.
The 57-year-old Ruakaka horseman died peacefully at 10.30am yesterday.
Logan had been extremely ill with throat cancer for some time, but was determined to hang on to watch Volkstok'n'barrell represent him and co-training ex-wife Donna in last Saturday's TV3 Derby. His death came just 90 hours after Volkstok'n'barrell ran his heart out to finish a close second to Mongolian Khan.
As a close family member said yesterday: "Dean had a date in his mind for this and he stuck to it."
Tomorrow, the stable will be looking to classy mare Rising Romance to go one better in the Ronald McDonald House Charities NZ Stakes on the final day of the Auckland Cup Carnival. It would be a fitting end to an emotional week.
