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By Ray Hickson

Why would someone put themselves through three days of walking more than 40km per day in the middle of summer? In Murray Conallin’s case it’s for Nini.

And for all the Ninis out there who need the kind of care a McGrath Foundation nurse provides.

Everyone in racing, and many not intimately involved, know the story of Nini Vascotto. A beloved and gutsy woman who battled cancer for a decade before it ultimately took her in August.

So on Sunday, a day after Forzanini - the horse named in his late wife’s honour - runs at Randwick, Murray Conallin will join a group of around 30 people who will take part in The Big 3 Trek and walk 150km from Newcastle to Sydney.

“I wanted to do something that puts your body through a great deal of stress,’’ he said.

“Three days of 40-odd kilometres should do that.”

Murray Conallin and Nini Vascotto.

The idea of doing a walk to support a cause like the McGrath Foundation that is close to his heart came to Conallin at just the right time.

He’d seen a Beanies For Brain Cancer walk organised by Luke Alexander, who is behind The Big 3 Trek, earlier in the year and nearing the end of Nini’s life he noticed there was a new walk being organised for January 2022.

Ultimately that walk would be for the McGrath Foundation and he couldn’t see a better way to raise both awareness and funds for nurses like the one that walked Nini’s entire 10 year journey with breast cancer.

“Without Helen, who was our McGrath nurse, the journey we would have been on would have been immeasurably harder,’’ he said.

“She booked appointments, scans, when we had to go into hospital she made sure we were going to the right ward.

“She was there in the room when Nini passed. She became part of the family, someone you can lean on, cry with, she was amazing.

“All McGrath nurses make your lives easier. I don’t want anyone who goes through this not to have a McGrath nurse.”

Conallin has spent as much time as he can preparing for the walk which begins at Newcastle’s McDonald Jones Stadium early on Sunday morning.

The group, which includes a number of former footballers and cricketers, will arrive at the Sydney Cricket Ground on January 4. The following day they’ll complete a final 1km from the Entertainment Quarter back to the SCG and everyone is encouraged to join them and show support.

As for Forzanini, the three-year-old couldn’t have done her namesake any prouder in scoring two wins since her return from a break.

Nini was on course to celebrate her maiden win back on June 16 and, obviously, it’s been an emotional ride for Murray watching the filly win at Gosford and Canterbury without her.

“I was really nervous before the Gosford race. I didn’t care about the result but to actually watch her going around,’’ he said.

“I knew Nini would have tried to go to both the trials and we would have been up at Gosford together. I had a knot in my stomach all day.

“Because it was so close a lot of the emotion was taken out of it. On the line I thought she’d got beaten. If she’d won by two lengths I’d have been in the foetal position bawling my eyes out.

“This horse and the relationship between Nini and Torryburn and the Cornish Family was so special. With all that’s happened it makes Forza a special horse.”

Murray will be at Kensington on Saturday to watch the filly run in The Agency Real Estate Handicap (1100m) before making his way to Newcastle.

You can support Murray Conallin in raising money at "THIS LINK

All the fields, form and replays for Saturday's Kensington meeting