There was a beautiful - and slightly unusual - sight in suburban Kambah this week when feisty racehorse Brian's Lass met her namesake Brian Connell.
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Brian, well-known for his love of the Canberra Raiders and now-infamous "Sucko Panthers" poster from the team's 1990 premiership, is also a big fan of horse racing.
Before he was diagnosed a year ago with Motor Neurone Disease, a progressive, terminal neurological disease, Brian was a member of the Canberra Racing Club.
As the disease has swiftly robbed him of his mobility, Brian has not been able to attend the races.
But his brother-in-law Trevor Dewhurst did organise a share a three-year-old filly for Brian.
And it was soon clear what the horse should be named, according to head trainer Paul Jones who works with his mother Barbara Joseph at Joseph Jones Racing.
"The filly walked straight up to Brian and put her head on his shoulder. It was a beautiful moment and Brian couldn't wipe the smile from his face," Paul said.
"It was at that point we decided to name her Brian's Lass."
That connection was still clear on Thursday when the horse made a special home visit to Brian at his unit in Kambah.
Brian had been feeling particularly ill, with the MND causing him great pain in his hands, so Paul and his partner Maree Guthrie-Curran decided a visit from Brian's Lass would be the perfect pick-me-up.
The filly was more than happy to say hello to Brian, giving him a "sucko" of his own, with a big smooch on his head.
"Normally, she won't even walk up to people but she's more than happy to snuggle up to Brian," Maree said.
Paul, a former Canberra Raiders player, understands people with special needs - he has a 20-year-old son with autism, Jacob, and the stable regularly fundraises for the Autism Association.
Her teared up a little as he watched the horse nuzzle Brian.
"I'm very emotional actually," he said.
Brian's Lass will start racing soon.
"I'm very confident she'll win her fair share of races," Paul said.
Brian's mum Ellen said he had been unable to visit the horse at the stables this week and it was a wonderful gesture for her to be brought to him.
"It really put a smile on his face," she said.
Meanwhile, seven horses trained by Joseph Jones Racing are nominated to run at Thoroughbred Park in Canberra on Tuesday, Melbourne Cup Day, and one, Just A Blur, is nominated to run in the $200,000 Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes at Flemington.
