The Invitees (Singapore)

[my miss storm cat]

Ab Champ arrives...

http://www.siacup.com.sg/DesktopModu...266&PortalId=0

[my miss storm cat]

On the South African kids...

http://www.sahorseracing.com/news.asp

[my miss storm cat]

Music, please.....

The Hong Kong Raiders...

http://www.hkjc.com/english/news/news_2008051519006.htm

* * *

The barrier draw.....

http://www.turfclub.com.sg/RacingInf...9/Default.aspx

(... and good luck to my Royal Captain in R5 and Big Easy in R7).

[my miss storm cat]

Lim's Fighter out..... has bronchitis.

Feel better!

Friday trackwork notes...

http://www.turfclub.com.sg/DesktopMo...158&PortalId=0

[NoChanceToDance]

Poor Absolute Champion

[my miss storm cat]

Originally Posted by NoChanceToDance

Poor Absolute Champion

Oh my God what? I couldn't stay up but remember Dr John?

On the other place and privately i kept saying i had a bad feeling... don't know who won yet... he okay?

I had said it to AJ yesterday too.

[my miss storm cat]

Oh my God.

[my miss storm cat]

Replays are here, TT and Jay Peg won.
http://www.siacup.com.sg/

[_ed_]

Very sorry to hear about Absolute Champion. Awful.

Pleased for TT, and very proud of the efforts of Sir Slick and Spin Around in the Cup. Slick was only 2 and a half lengths from Jay Peg...he's raced 25 times since October, how would he have done if he'd had half that number of races? He's a tired horse. Probably wouldn't have won anyway, but think he might have been closer if he had been at his peak.

[my miss storm cat]

Originally Posted by _ed_

Very sorry to hear about Absolute Champion. Awful.

Pleased for TT, and very proud of the efforts of Sir Slick and Spin Around in the Cup. Slick was only 2 and a half lengths from Jay Peg...he's raced 25 times since October, how would he have done if he'd had half that number of races? He's a tired horse. Probably wouldn't have won anyway, but think he might have been closer if he had been at his peak.

It's a shame when these victories which should be so joyful aren't...

Nice for TT and all of them.

"I've lost my Champion'" was, reportedly, all Hall had to say.

Sad.

[my miss storm cat]

The South China Morning post.....


Monday, May 19, 2008

Absolute Champion put down


MURRAY BELL


Absolute Champion, Hong Kong's world champion sprinter in 2006, broke down hopelessly in the early stages of last night's KrisFlyer Sprint in Singapore and was put down by vets.

The David Hall-trained sprinter took a prominent position in the early stages of the S$1 million (HK$5.6 million) event but went back through the field abruptly after 200 metres, with jockey Brett Prebble pulling him up as quickly as possible.

Singapore Turf Club veterinary surgeon Eugene Reynders said nothing could have been done to save the multiple Group One winner.

"He completely smashed his right front fetlock joint, a terrible injury," Reynders said. "It's a real tragedy, a terrible shame, but there was nothing else we could do but put him down."

The breakdown and subsequent death of the 2006 Cathay Pacific Sprint hero cast a pall over the excellent win of the fairytale Australian sprinter Takeover Target, who defeated fellow Aussie Magnus by a half length.

It also took the gloss off the brilliant, late-closing performance of the Caspar Fownes-trained Sanziro, who rocketed home from last to finish third, a mere nose off Magnus.

"It's been a fantastic run, and we are really proud of him, but it's hard to generate much enthusiasm at the moment after watching what happened to David's horse," Fownes said. "He's been racing out of his skin and we thought this was a good opportunity to test him in the international arena. He's run another blinder and I'm very proud of him. That's it for him this season - he's done a great job."

Hall was a shattered man, scarcely able to believe the horse that gave him his biggest moment in Hong Kong racing was gone. "It's impossible to believe at the moment," Hall said. "At least Brett was able to ease him out of the race and he [Prebble] is OK."

Reynders said the injury to Absolute Champion was "just a freak accident" unrelated to the gelding's well-publicised battle to overcome a niggling foot injury in recent weeks.

[my miss storm cat]

Only one returns.....

Sanziro goes home.

http://www.hkjc.com/english/news/news_2008052019060.htm

edit cause this thread is too sad to bump up.....

I didn't realize till today that Big Easy had won.


http://www.siacup.com.sg/DesktopModu...266&PortalId=0

[my miss storm cat]

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Champion's demise a sad day for racing, but accidents will happen


ON THE RAILS, with MURRAY BELL


The sad breakdown and subsequent death of Absolute Champion in Singapore on Sunday night has inevitably raised questions about procedures leading up to these big races.

The Singapore Turf Club has a public relations disaster on its hands, with some professionals questioning - rightly or wrongly - whether Absolute Champion should have been allowed to start. And the racing crowds were horrified at the spectacle of a star international horse being put down on what they were told was the biggest day of racing in the Lion City.

There have been no winners in the Absolute Champion tragedy. The horse himself is gone, having been humanely destroyed after shattering his right fetlock joint in the early stages of the feature sprint at Kranji.

Fortunately, jockey Brett Prebble was able to pull the gelding up quickly and avoid injury himself.



Absolute Champion has been fighting a problem with one front foot and his trainer, David Hall, has done a great job in keeping the 2006 Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sprint hero going, not only competing, but winning again this season at Group One level.

When he thought he had the problem licked last Monday morning, he brought in another expert to give a professional opinion that had the potential to make or break the Singapore assault.

Prebble, who has been runner-up to Douglas Whyte on the jockeys' premiership for the past three seasons, had two rides on Absolute Champion during the lead-up week to get a feel of his soundness and give a verdict.

An emphatic "no" from Prebble at any stage would have resulted in the venture coming to a standstill. Prebble's credentials as a judge of such matters are widely acknowledged through the community of racing professionals.

So when the jockey said "the horse felt fine, I couldn't fault him", Hall was happy to proceed.

Neither Prebble nor any other jockey in the same situation would pass a horse to race that felt unsound, or outside that individual horse's normal parameters. Jockeys don't gamble with their own lives that way.

Dr Eugene Reynders, the top vet at the Singapore Turf Club, said the catastrophic injury Absolute Champion suffered was "unrelated" to the feet problems he had suffered but overcome in the week leading up to the big race.

Ultimately, the decision had to rest with Hall, who made that decision after consulting his trusted jockey Prebble. The Melbourne Cup winning trainer and the champion jockey each have impeccable credentials and not a blemish against their names in such matters.

We must, and should, accept they made the right call for the right reasons regardless of how sad the ultimate outcome proved to be.

When the filly Eight Belles broke down after passing the post in the Kentucky Derby this month, the US industry was besieged by negative, media reaction.

Whether we are talking about Hong Kong or Singapore, the lessons are the same. While we must be ever vigilant, we are dealing with animals of mere flesh and blood. And even with the best advice, accidents can and will happen.