I'll Have Another injured, withdrawn, retired..

[Riot]

Originally Posted by Rudeboyelvis

Is this insider scoop from for the Justice League of Extraordinary Veterinarians?

Because according to every major news outlet covering this, it apprears that it is bowed, but there has been no official diagnosis yet.

If you know more about this than Ray Paulick, shoot him an email - he hates getting scooped.

Are you serious? There has been an "official diagnosis" announced, which was that via ultrasound they have found there is mild tendon inflammation, "tendinitis".

Which is certainly not the same thing as a bowed tendon.

Who has wrongly called it a bowed tendon? The horse was out for all to see today - there's no bow.

Here's the Paulick Report you are quoting. You might try actually reading it.

O'Neill said he noticed a "lack of definition in the left front leg" yesterday and wrapped his leg overnight. The trainer gave I'll Have Another an easy gallop around the track this morning. "He trained great this morning," said O'Neill but added there was some inflammation afterwards. "Could he run and compete? Yes. Would it be in his best interests? No."

"It's not like he had an injury and Doug took him out for a test drive," said Reddam defending his trainer.

Veternarian Dr. Larry Bramlage told the Paulick Report it was an early diagnosis of tendonitis to the superficial flexor tendon of the left front. He described it as not severe.

That is not a bowed tendon.

[Rudeboyelvis]

Originally Posted by Riot

werds

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6FUR_nhGX8

[Danzig]

i wasn't bummed at all, til just now reading the latest on bh. he could return in 3-6 months but

'he's done so much'....no, he hasn't. it's a shame, this more than anything, about racing any more. you win a couple races, and off you go.
i guess there's no point bewailing the current scheme of things....but i feel that less than 10 starts in a career hampers this sport. there's no horse to build up a following-the ones that do get fans only run a few times a year, not enough to keep fans coming back, to get fans 'hooked' on the sport.
bah

[Dunbar]

Originally Posted by Danzig

i wasn't bummed at all, til just now reading the latest on bh. he could return in 3-6 months but

'he's done so much'....no, he hasn't. it's a shame, this more than anything, about racing any more. you win a couple races, and off you go.
i guess there's no point bewailing the current scheme of things....but i feel that less than 10 starts in a career hampers this sport. there's no horse to build up a following-the ones that do get fans only run a few times a year, not enough to keep fans coming back, to get fans 'hooked' on the sport.
bah

Exactly right, Danzig. How rich does an owner have to be before the enjoyment of watching his own top-notch horse race takes precedence over making money from stud?

--Dunbar

[richard]

We've got Shackleford, Caixa Eletronica in the True North, Brilliant Speed in the Woodford.

[Dahoss]

Originally Posted by richard

We've got Shackleford, Caixa Eletronica in the True North, Brilliant Speed in the Woodford.

Quick turnaround for Shackleford, huh?

[Merlinsky]

Originally Posted by Dunbar

Exactly right, Danzig. How rich does an owner have to be before the enjoyment of watching his own top-notch horse race takes precedence over making money from stud?

--Dunbar

I don't blame him one bit. Wish we'd get to see IHA again, but I don't blame Reddam here. It's not like this is a perfectly healthy or mildly injured 3yo. It's a tendon injury which requires a long layoff and recovery. If he won't be ready to race til May at the earliest, and even then might not be back to his old form, it's hardly unreasonable for them to want go out on a high note of a dual classic win. What if he came back, won a minor race, then bowed a tendon? How is that worth it to anyone?

[RolloTomasi]

Originally Posted by Merlinsky

I don't blame him one bit. Wish we'd get to see IHA again, but I don't blame Reddam here. It's not like this is a perfectly healthy or mildly injured 3yo. It's a tendon injury which requires a long layoff and recovery. If he won't be ready to race til May at the earliest, and even then might not be back to his old form, it's hardly unreasonable for them to want go out on a high note of a dual classic win. What if he came back, won a minor race, then bowed a tendon? How is that worth it to anyone?

I'm holding out for a Square Eddie-type deal. At the tail-end of the next breeding season, when all this drama is rehashed during next year's Triple Crown, temptation will rear it's ugly head. Especially if I'll Have Another proves to be as unpopular a sire as people are predicting.

[Thunder Gulch]

I don't blame the owner at all for opting for retirement. I don't know what I'd do, but consider that we don't know if IHA will ever be capable of winning at a high level again. For every Tiznow or Silver Charm that came back, we have a Monarchos or Funny Cide that just never made it back to the top. Bottom line for Reddam is that he can now sell the rights for many millions, and he is one who has shown he will put it back in the game. To keep a champion running at 4 or 5, you almost need a situation like Jess Jackson or Robert Lewis where the guy knew he wasn't going to be around to see the sons and daughters run, so why not keep on. At 40, I'd probably retire my horse and buy more. At 80, maybe you roll the dice and see what happens.

[Dunbar]

Originally Posted by Thunder Gulch

I don't blame the owner at all for opting for retirement. I don't know what I'd do, but consider that we don't know if IHA will ever be capable of winning at a high level again. For every Tiznow or Silver Charm that came back, we have a Monarchos or Funny Cide that just never made it back to the top. Bottom line for Reddam is that he can now sell the rights for many millions, and he is one who has shown he will put it back in the game. To keep a champion running at 4 or 5, you almost need a situation like Jess Jackson or Robert Lewis where the guy knew he wasn't going to be around to see the sons and daughters run, so why not keep on. At 40, I'd probably retire my horse and buy more. At 80, maybe you roll the dice and see what happens.

That only makes sense if making money is the only thing that matters, no matter how much money you already have. The owner is a rich man. He can afford to buy more horses whether or not he sends IHA to stud. The chance of him getting another horse as good as IHA is small no matter how many horses he buys or breeds. I'd give 10-1 right now that the owner will never see a son or daughter of IHA win 2/3 of the TC. I'd give 10-1 that no son or daughter will ever win HOY.

When something unusually lucky, in this case having a horse that is the best horse in the country, actually happens, the recipient of the good luck thinks it was easy and will happen again. Whether the owner is 40 or 80, he/she probably won't be racing a horse as good as IHA again.

--Dunbar

[Merlinsky]

Originally Posted by RolloTomasi

I'm holding out for a Square Eddie-type deal. At the tail-end of the next breeding season, when all this drama is rehashed during next year's Triple Crown, temptation will rear it's ugly head. Especially if I'll Have Another proves to be as unpopular a sire as people are predicting.

I did think of that. Given that he, unlike Square Eddie, is a Derby/Preakness winner makes it much less likely, but hey, stranger things have happened. Always liked Square Eddie.

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by Dunbar

Exactly right, Danzig. How rich does an owner have to be before the enjoyment of watching his own top-notch horse race takes precedence over making money from stud?

--Dunbar

i don't even know how much they can make off stud with him-it's been quite a speculative subject lately.
the sport has become a breeding game instead of a racing one, with 'wins' earned in the sales ring. it's funny that square eddie was mentioned, he crossed my mind earlier..
also, when people talk about breeding woes, soundness comes up. this horse has had issues since taking to the track, and made a seven run career-is breeding him in the best interests of racings future?? what happened with breeders improving the breed? now it's all about improving the bottom line.