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Originally Posted by RolloTomasi
Baffert does break down a large number of horses. You never hear too much about them cuz for the most part they happen during training hours (What A Song, Cavonnier, and Inexcessivelygood are the only "high profile" ones I can think of).
In 2002, Baffert finished 1-2-3-4-6 in the Del Mar Futurity with Icecoldbeeratreds, Kafwain, Chief Planner, Friendly Mike, and Bull Market. By May 15 the following year, the winner was dead, the 2nd thru 4th were laid up/retired with suspensory injuries, and Bull Market had knee surgery from which he never truly recovered. Not to mention his best juvenile that year, Vindication, was toast (another suspensory) by the following March.
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I know a guy that exercised horses for Baffert for a few years and they stories he would tell me about what a waste it was for owners to send their horses to him because so many really, really nice horses that had either a lot of potential or were proven to be a stake horse only to have them break down because of the unneccesary way of having them breeze so fast just about every time they went out.. What is the reason besides a good tightner every so often to have a horse time after time work in 1:10 or 58 etc.? I mean if ya know you have a good one, why risk the injuries that come along with all those too fast works? Do we see other trainers like Pletcher, or Sherrifs, or Drysdale breezing their horses that way? How many good 4 or 5 yr olds does Baffert have? He gets a few good 2 yr olds that somehow stand up to it however they do, then by the time the Triple Crown trail is finished most likey so are they.
Of course Baffert only has over 100+ horses in training so whats a few good ones falling thru the cracks right? They'll send him more just because he is Bob Baffert.
I love the sport an of course have loved some of the horses that have made it thru his barn over the years. Sometimes I just wished they were in someone elses hands so we could see them longer or if even at all.