RacingPost reports 'Dini done after BC...
 

**** is all I can say. Really wanted to see him around next year. Theres a long way to go, and things can always change, but I'm not holding my breath on that one.... :( Alteast it looks like Discreet Cat will return...

http://www.racingpost.co.uk/news/mas...tory_id=857488

(free registration needed to view I think)

Boooooooo! :mad:

I guess that officially squashes any talk of this horse being potentially great.

No wonder Discreet Cat is not going in the Classic. I used to think that the sheikhs were these really sporting people but stuff like this makes me change my mind. If this is true, it really sucks. I guess it doesn't surprise me though. I honestly never expected him to continue on. He's not the first high profile 3yo that they would not have run at four. If they retired the great Lammatarra, who was better than Bernardini, they would retire this one too.

I'm not surprised in the slightest bit...

I hope for their sake that he wins the BCC. I won't be holding my breath on that one, though...

They are the enemies of racing.

This is just further confirmation. Only the breeders can defend them because they have made them staggeringly wealthy.

Pretty lame....makes me root against this horse and every horse they have.

If true, this is terribly disappointing. Forget all of the talk about how great he may be, without racing again, Bernie comes up short of any all - time lists.

While it would be disappointing, I don't think it has any effect on how good or great Bernardini is as a horse. If u think he's great now, why would he need another 15-20 races to prove it? Sometimes, careers are cut short but the brilliance is still evident. In racing, think Landaluce or Ruffian. In basketball, there was Len Bias. Football had Gayle Sayers. When greatness is there, it's there whether u get to see it for five races or 50. I'm not saying whether u have to believe that Bernardini is an all-time great but what I am saying is that if he did what he's been doing for another 20 races and u would proclaim him great at that point, then the talent is there now for u to call him great because if it wasn't already there now, he wouldn't be able to do it in the future. It's my feeling that more races would only confirm further to the non-believers what the believers already know.

YAWN. So who do you like in the Belmont 4th race if it comes off the turf?

I hope he loses, just as I'd hope any 3-yr-old who is scheduled to be retired loses. I don't share blacktw's reaction though. If they ran Bernardini at 4, it would be the exception in this day and age. The sheik's don't have a monopoly on rushing the stars to the breeding shed.

The only way to reverse this would be to impose a strict you-can't-breed-'em-until-they're-five rule. No exceptions. Yeah, I know it isn't going to happen, but if enough people keep bringing it up, and if attendance, betting, and TV-interest keep dwindling, who knows.

--Dunbar

KG these examples you give were all injury (or in Bias' case, drug) related. Bernardini will be retired sound as a bell after EIGHT career starts. At what point do careers get so short that there's no emotional attachments?

I don't doubt his greatness. I've seen it live in person 4 times now. But barring injury, i want to see at least an ATTEMPT at a 4yo career.

I only hope he wins because that's the only way I'm going to think highly of the colt. LOL I've been the minority in that I'm just not overly impressed with him... seeing him challenged in the BCC for the win would make me more inclined to believe all of the praise about him.

He probably would have only run 4 times anyways, big deal. I'm with Oracle, this race is 4 weeks away and theres plenty of action on tap today.
4th is off the turf as is all turf races at Belmont.

It sure wouldn't be very sporting if they deprived us of Bernardini vs Discreet Cat in the BC and weren't even planning on having that matchup at the Dubai World Cup.

Unfortunately ... you're correct.

If he wins big in the BC Classic ... all we can say is that he had a great 3YO campaign.

No starts as a 2YO ... and no starts as a 4YO.

Even people who have billions of stolen dollars have no sense of sportsmanship any more.

Kinda figures though ... no human decency ... no sportsmanship either.

No, it wouldn't... but it makes me think that perhaps they consider Discreet Cat the better of the two if they're going to run him at the Dubai World Cup. You'd think they'd want their absolute best to run there...

I agree. I want to see it too but not to PROVE his greatness but to just enjoy it over and over. I'm already of the opinion that he's one of the greatest talents that I've ever seen. The only thing I was pointing out was that it doesn't take a prolonged career in order to show brilliance. When it's there, it's usually there from the start. Those examples I gave were to say that it can be there after six races as easily as it can be there after 26. Doesn't take away from the disappointment of not getting to see it longer though. But I don't think a horse's greatness is determined by decisions that an owner makes about where to race him and for how long. Those decisions have nothing to do with his actual ability.

Discreet Cat would get dusted by Bernardini. If Wanderin Boy was running against the same horses Discreet Cat has been beating up on, he too would look like a monster. Gimmee a break. A horse that runs 4 times a year shouldnt even be talked about until he runs in a race with meaning.

IMO there is a big difference between the Sheik and most owners. There is absolutely no financial factor in his decisions. If there was he wouldn't have spent $56 Million in a few days last month. I can understand why most people economically take the money and run, so to speak, but for the Sheik the dollars are absolutely meaningless. He is perhaps the only person in the game who can unquestionably afford to be sporting and he is absolutely not.

The real question is where he derives pleasure in this game if as soon as he gets a good horse he rushes it the the breeding shed. If you ask me he is the ultimate coward. If he really believed Bernardini could handle all comers he would be eager to race him next year.

I agree with that. It's just that IMO, if he doesn't win the BCC, who has he faced all season long? I'm sure that some people will look at his last race as the telling race of his career. He really hasn't had much competition this whole time (although it's not his fault.)

Another day, another kick in the teeth for fans of this sport! I'll withhold further comment until it is official that they are retiring him, afterall...my feelings about that crowd is well documented.

And how is that different than the types of fields Bernardini has been facing? LMAO

And why run Discreet Cat in the DWC instead of Bernardini? Makes no sense to me... especially if the Sheik's don't care about the $$.

Your concept of "greatness" is a bit more ethereal than mine.

I believe greatness is a function of proven performance ... not of speculation on what might have been. Coulda/shoulda/woulda doesn't count.

As I said in my previous post ... all we can say about Bernardini ... and Lammtarra ... is that they had great 3YO campaigns.

They only faced the best horses available in one random year. The really, really great ones did a lot more ... they beat the best ones around in multiple years ... a much more difficult achievement.

I agree 100% with this post. Thank you for putting it into words that I couldn't...

Amen.......

Everything I have heard regarding Sheik Mo is that he is a "sporting man"... a sporting man doesn't take his supposed best horse out of training to put him in the breeding shed for no apparent reason... JMO.

Taking the money and running ... is perfectly underestandable when the horse is owned by an Average Joe who wants to ensure his family's future financial needs.

I didn't mind "Chappy" retiring Smarty Jones ... I just resented his lying to us about it with that phony "what's best for the horse" PR spin.

The Maktoums aren't your Average Mohammeds ... they've got billions and billions of stolen dollars ... and the syndication of Bernardini won't even amount to a decimal point on their balance sheets.

This just shows a complete lack of class ... and total contempt for the racing public.

If this is true, I can't tell you how disappointed I am. So much for the Sheikh being a sportsman. What, he can't wait one more year for Bernardini's foals? His connections seem to be having such a good time watching their homebred run - I don't understand this rush to the breeding shed when it's clear they don't need the money. Clearly now, even for the Sheikh, it's about establishing Darley/Jonabell as a top stud farm. I don't have a problem with that per se, but he can no longer claim to be a sportsman. I expect Bernardini to win the Classic, but this is a punch in the gut and a real blow to the sport.

I don't think there are any sportsmen left in this game - what a shame. This colt had so much more to give. I'm going to have a difficult time enjoying the run up to the BC now.

Double Amen.

Somebody thinks he is great, because his stud starting fee is rumored to exceed Ghostzappers.

I do agree that it's hard to justify taking this horse away for breeding purposes. These guys make more money before lunch everyday than a standing Bernardini for a year would produce. It's impossible to justify it by saying he will produce other Bernardini's because it's such an unknown once you transfer them to the shed. Besides, look at Saint Liam and others who met their demise off the track.
While the retirement of Smarty, A. Alex, and others was disappointing, I can't say I wouldn't act the same way if the financial opportunity presented itself.

Sorry to say but I have to root against him in the Classic. I don't want to hear for the rest of my life how insanely special he was when he didn't raced for a grand total of 8 starts. A beating or off the board in the BCC would cement that I would never have to hear that....That's 8 starts people. Not 20. He is anything but overraced. This is as bad a decision as it gets.

BB you are being too hard on the Chapmans. He definitely had major issues after the Belmont. Definitely.
Chapman turned down a blank check for him before the Derby, and when agents called on the horse after his debut, at least one agent anyway, they were told nicely by his trainer that he wasn't for sale, and never would be at any price.
Noone was lying, he had issues that made it impossible for him to race again at that level.

is it mean for me to hope Bernardini turns out to be sterile? It'd serve 'em right.

Or War Emblem who would be watching queer eye if he could instead of handling his business.

Is this first-hand knowledge on your part ... or are you accepting someone's word for it?

I find it hard to believe that Smarty Jones could not have returned sound as a 4YO.

If I were Chappy ... I definitely would have grabbed the dough ... but I don't think I would have tried to spin the racing public about it. Nothing wrong with saying, "We need the money ... so we're retiring and syndicating our horse."

I can appreciate this sentiment. To an extent, I agree with u. I would call Bernardini one of the all-time greats.......but wouldn't put him in the Hall of Fame. To me, that is a place that should be reserved for those that combined accomplishments with ability and with durability. I think in order to be a hall of famer, u have to have been a champion in more than one year. But simply on ability, I think that can be seen and judged much earlier. That's not to say that I would put a horse up there after just breaking his maiden or winning some nw2x allowance but if u've demonstrated clearly that u are at the top of the game, even if it's only for one year, that's enough for me. Also, even though he might only be beating the best of this year, if he were to win the Classic, he'd be beating some of the best of multiple years. Lava Man was clearly one of the best of last year and some of the 3yo's that he's beaten this year will be among the best in coming years.