Why Super Frolic matters
 

There are vague indications and rumors on a few other forums that he was euthanized, that the injury was horrific, that he is gone, but it hasn't been confirmed so his fans wait and we remind ourselves that there are miracles even if in our collective hearts we fear what 'they" say is true.

In the arguments and debates that some of the old-timers are have perfected, the point is raised that race horses simply don't race these days. Around their third year the greed sets in and they're whisked off to stud and replaced by the newer flavors of the month. The cycle continues, the back-in-our-day-isms flow and the end-is-near shouting begins, and we hear how the sport is dying.

In waiting for news about Super Frolic I just want to remind the doom-sayers that THIS horse represents everything that is right with this sport that we all love. THIS horse never ducked competition. THIS horse went to Dubai to run in the World Cup, ran in the Breeder's Cup, in the Pacific Classic, in the Hollywood Gold Cup.....

THIS horse who is 7 years old (and not a gelding) and who came out of retirement for whatever reason..... THIS horse represents everything the nay-sayers claim no longer exists.

If he survives I hope that he'll live a long and happy life in retirement.

If he does not, I hope it was over quickly and that he didn't suffer, and that his connections know that some of us are profoundly sorry for their loss and that he was appreciated.

Well he only came back because no mares wanted to breed to him. Unfortunately he is gone. Sorry.

I didn't know it was confirmed till after i posted this.

I hope he didn't suffer.

I'm sorry that u are saddened by his death but I don't think u are at all correct here. We've come to expect the second level horses to stick around for years and years and race much more often than the good horses. We see the Wilko's, the Sun King's, the Super Frolic's hang around and compete all the time. This horse doesn't represent anything that I love about the sport. What most of us "doom-sayers" as u call us want to see is a time when the good horses stick around and race more than 5-6 times a year and don't take two month layoffs between races. Sure, they never ducked competition with him but that's because he was no competition. Would they have taken the same kinds of risks with him had he been good enough to be winning some of those big races he was running in? Who knows? But I can't help but believe that he was only sticking around because he was fairly competitive on the lower levels and could earn some money (nothing wrong with that at all) and because as Sniper said, he wasn't a strong breeding prospect.

But to say that he represents everything we say doesn't exist anymore is flat out wrong. We know it exists at the lower levels. We just want to see it exist again at the upper levels. Super Frolic isn't an upper level horse.

There are so many things I could say in reference to the above posted nonsense, but I'll keep my mouth shut.

RIP to Super Frolic. I'm sorry that he didn't make it. :(

While I never like to see a horse break down, do we need these eulogies every time a horse breaks down? Dogs die, bugs die, horses die, even people die. How can a horse duck competition? Is he going to hide on race day?

I'm sure I'll come off as a bad guy, but this whole thing seems over the top to me.

Me too...
I enjoyed watching Super Frolic and am sorry he didn't make it. He was a nice horse.
There are many horses that people don't follow and some of us for whatever reasons take a liking to them.

Well, I know ily.

just ignore it then if its so troublesome for you. all of these eulogies that you find so objectionable amount to probably less than 1% of what is posted on here.

does this mean that you only like the top performers? i like all horses in general, and enjoy a good race run regardless of the horse, his name, or if he's a gr 1 performer...not quite sure what you mean. super frolic was a solid horse, a good runner, who wasn't quite what breeders wanted--which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

and what's with the u? you spell out every word but you. that's kinda weird.

You don't really believe this....do you?

People post thoughts and others have a right to post their thoughts. Sure, they can ignore whatever they wish, but they can also respond as they see fit. Surely you've disagreed with posts here before and then chosen not to ignore them. Why should it be different this time?

That's not what I'm saying at all. There is absolutely nothing wrong with liking the horse and being a fan. We all like some horses that aren't the most popular horses or the highest of class. But that doesn't mean that Super Frolic represents all that is good in racing and that those of us that miss the old days should appreciate what he's doing. When she said that he represents everything we say doesn't exist anymore, she's not correct. We miss the top horses not sticking around. As much as u may like him and appreciate him, u should at least be able to admit that Super Frolic is not a top horse.

No, it's not a bad thing at all. He just doesn't represent the kind of horses that we are talking about when we say we miss the way top horses used to be campaigned. Nothing more, nothing less.

And yes, I only have interest in the horses that I think are the top performers. Which often times are not the same ones that others think are lol.

where did I imply that he doesn't have the right to post his thoughts?

nothing is different this time. he expressed a thought and so did I.

I do object to others at times, but for the most part choose to ignore most of it. I certainly wouldn't object to people who get emotionally involved with horses and therefore need an outlet to express that emotion when they go down.

the last thing you need when you're hurting is for some wiseass who comes on with the "its like a bug dying" stuff.

to some its not like a bug dying. I may not feel the same for every horse in every situation but there have been times when I was deeply hurt. you or others may not be hurt and that is fine. by why choose to object to THAT issue? is it really so horribly inconvenient?

My condolences to all close to the horse. It is always a shame when this happens. In this case in particluar because he had raced quite a while, was retired, and then brought back.

It could have been worse....I could have not nailed the exacta in that race. Fly high with extra hundred dollar bills my now bigger youbet account.

Personally, I do feel sentiment for the horses that go down. But to each his own. And just as the horses you consider "top class" may well not be on someone else's list, you certainly can't expect anyone else to ipso facto agree with your assessment that this was not a top class animal. So you jump forward from your subjective determination of a top class horse (whatever that may be) to being critical of someone's opinion who happens not to agree with how you define "we?"

It is terrribly bad form to redboard in a thread dedicated to animal or human passing.

The WE I was referring to was the same group that she put us all into when she called us they nay-sayers.

But u know exactly what I'm talking about. WE lament the losses of horses like Bernardini and Birdstone and other top horses that are grade one winners that retire early when sound and the horses that trainers keep out of races and only run them 3-5 times a year even though they are healthy because they are trying to protect their value. Can u honestly say that Super Frolic is at that kind of level?

Again, I have no issue with how anyone feels about this horse or them being saddened by his loss or the loss of any other horse. I'm just saying that this horse did not represent what we are talking about when we say we lament the ways of old.

This particular horse breaking down is disturbing. I dont like the eulogies, but this horse certainly deserved better than being brought back to race just to be put down. It adds a little to the disappointment because he had done so much. 4 months ago the horse was where he belonged. Retired and enjoying life.

Every person is different... it breaks my hurt every time I read about another one too.

Well, the poster who started this thread seems to hurt for every horse that gets injured, or worse, and while she is certainly entitled to that sentiment, it is hardly surprising that others have picked up on the repetitive series of posts of this ilk.

Honestly, I posted about a racetrack friend of mine who passed away and some nitwit chose to turn the thread into something else entirely. His thoughts didn't diminish my sorrow. You post on the internet and you get what you get.

For the most part the eulogies are confined to the Angels thread.

I think your comment of finding it disturbing hit the nail on the head.....and has generated a lot of chatter on many forums.
It goes back to connections, surfaces, among other issues, breeding shed, retirements, etc, but mainly controversy surrounding the trainer.

And while yes I absolutely agree he was not one of the "top level" horses, he was a horse that many people knew about due to his competition record. I liked him and I'm sorry to see him gone.

I think the fact she honors each horse with a thread keeps the ugly side of the sport in the forefront, which I assume is why you get a diverse reaction. I personally think it is good, to keep a memory of those that have suffered, but I can see why there are people who would rather not see this side of the sport on a daily basis.

Personally, I place a horse like Super Frolic above early-retired 3 yo's in terms of earning my admiration. There is surely something to be said for running a small number of brilliant races and going off to stud. There is also something to be said for a solid G2/G3 horse that runs at 3,4,5 and 6. I do not consider Bernardini a great horse, not at all. He won a couple G 1's and got beat pretty good in the BC. Birdstone got a couple G1's and was gone.

It's not as if the "top class" horses you mention make one forget about Forego.

He earned black type at 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7... very unusual these days. $933,000... almost a millionaire.

Much as i look warily on Asmussen's training, is the Tapeta surface any factor in yet another breakdown? or is it happening at the same rate as dirt tracks?

What a shame.

I beleive this is the first Tapeta track. I hope there is a reason that can be identified for the injury. The chart indicates the injury happened very early in the race.

Is it wrong to be saddened by the death of every racehorse that has tried, that has done their job whether they wanted to or not. Is it wrong to become emotionally attached to horses that you see at the track and for some reason they stick out from the others?

If it wasn't for the horses, where would be be? Afterall, it's called HORSEracing, or did a number of you forget that?

The horses are the backbone to this sport, but what thanks do they get? None, zip, zlich, nil point.

If you don't become emotionally attached and simply look at racehorses as betting potential, then that's fine, but don't take it out on the people that DO care.

i can relate to that part....

not a strong attachment to every individual i would think, but i certainly have a strong attachment to horses in general, and it's dammed depressing to see one lose his life while trying to make his humans happy. it's also depressing to have people only worry about whether they hit the ex or not in that race. i think it's a shame super frolic was lost, especially considering he was retired to supposed greener pastures--but they weren't quite GREEEN enough for his owners...
but, we all know that this is part of the sport we choose to follow. and certainly i would expect it to touch the owners and trainer, groom, etc than the general public.
then again, for anyone to presume to know what someone else is feeling, or the depths of that feeling....well, i don't see how you can. to each his own i suppose. altho the cold, complete lack of empathy is something i will never understand.

it can be maudlin, but then again, it ought to be obvious what this thread would contain, so easy to skip it....

You think everyone knew that Super Frolic broke down at some irrelevant outpost late on a Saturday evening?

Very well put, Danzig :)

Might be a new track but not going to stay "irrelevant" when they give out almost 1 million in purse money on one day. Also it was televised on TVG, and the masters 2 races later was on ESPN, hard to miss what happened. So yes, most knew Super Frolic had been pulled up.

By seeing the amount of chatter on the forums, he had a lot of fans that are going to miss him.
Like the others said, if you don't like the thread don't read it.

Horses do not run to make humans happy, they run because they are genetically engineered to. Today, 2007, horses are faster than they have ever been. Feed programs, training, and breeding for speed have all lead to faster animals and drugs, illegal or not, have put a great strain on the thoroughbred.

I feel sorry whenever one goes down and Super Frolic breaking both sesamoids makes no one happy. Treating a horse as the individual it is, can lead to sadness, as breakdowns will always occur. Using terms such as nag, glue, etc. irritate me, but I take great satisfaction that I often "tax" those people at the window. Super Frolic was not a great horse, but he was an individual, and he will be missed. Condolences to his connections. BBB

Sumitas, do you walk around with a shoe in your mouth daily?

Note my location. Sorry Super Frolic wasn't headline news here. Dinner, perhaps, but not news, so excuse me if I missed it.

As I said, I hate to see horses break down. I do like animals and love horses. I am just well aware of the realities of the sport.

The drive by "I'm a winner" post. You are the master.