Everything that Godolphin ran last Sat was "older" including Literato and Creachadoir, both nice horses. I am not sure why they buy US horses and retire them while going on with Euros they buy. Maybe it's because there are more opportunities to stick it to Coolmore while running on grass-HK, Singapore, Australia etc
I don't think that early retirements are "sporting" and agree that they are bad for the game. What I said was "sporting" was putting up $22m for one day of racing, plus bearing the cost of shipping horses and transporting of human connections all over the globe to attend. Factor in payrolls and maintainance etc how much did Saturday cost? Probably 3 or 4 times what a BC costs before worrying about purses. Oh yeah, and BC screws up everything they touch. I wouldn't trust them to ship my luggage, much less my horse! DWC staff moved horses and humans through Dubai last week efficiently. I've spoken to several who were there and other than delays because of construction, things went beautifully.
I see no way to stop Sh. Mo from buying what he wants, other than for owners of horses he wants to say "no." Mrs. Valando did, IEAH did. It can happen. The man is a walking money pit, and most of it comes from real estate, NOT OIL. The price per gallon has little influence on him. His money however is very welcome through the industry.
The breeder with a nice yearling, the pinhooker with a nice 2yo, the owner of a recent maiden winner- they WANT to hear that phone call come in! It is their livelihood. That call can mean a life changing moment. As FANS and/or handicappers, we are not part of this game. While our money fuels it, we're in it but NOT OF IT. Just as the main office of the Yankees doesn't ask the bleacher creatures their opinions on trades, the horseplayers are not a factor in the decision to sell horses.
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RIP Monroe.
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