Papi Chullo in $16k claimer today

[Antitrust32]

Originally Posted by Bigsmc

Exactly.

This is not a situation to get emotional over.

If the horse had finished last or had been vanned off.. then I could see it..

[Bigsmc]

What if he came back in a Stake and was last or vanned off? Is getting injured in a Stake somehow okay, but getting injured in a 16k plater an injustice to the horse?

Bottom line, if the trainer knows the horse and is not knowingly risking the horse's welfare by running him in a race, what does it matter what level the horse runs at?

[Antitrust32]

Originally Posted by Bigsmc

What if he came back in a Stake and was last or vanned off? Is getting injured in a Stake somehow okay, but getting injured in a 16k plater an injustice to the horse?

Bottom line, if the trainer knows the horse and is not knowingly risking the horse's welfare by running him in a race, what does it matter what level the horse runs at?

It doesnt matter... but if he had broke down, people would assume that the trainer knows the horse and KNOWINGLY risked the horse's welfare by running him in a 16K claiming race.

[parsixfarms]

Originally Posted by Bigsmc

What if he came back in a Stake and was last or vanned off? Is getting injured in a Stake somehow okay, but getting injured in a 16k plater an injustice to the horse?

Bottom line, if the trainer knows the horse and is not knowingly risking the horse's welfare by running him in a race, what does it matter what level the horse runs at?

Tough to say at any time whether the trainer is risking the horse's welfare, but some circumstances do draw attention. I don't think that any of us know why Papi Chullo was away for a year, but it is fair to assume that something was wrong. Perhaps the horse is over it, and the connections were taking an edge, knowing that no one was likely to claim the horse off such a steep drop, and now he is eligible for starter allowance races all winter.

The problem comes with the recent example of Brookhaven's Money at Belmont. Here is a horse with whom the current connections won a NY Stallion Series race (off the claim) in early June and then had consistently run him in NY-bred allowance company since the stakes win. After a few mediocre efforts, he is dropped precipitously to a $15K NW3L claiming race, and he is pulled up and vanned off after running less than a half mile.

[MISTERGEE]

Originally Posted by Bigsmc

What if he came back in a Stake and was last or vanned off? Is getting injured in a Stake somehow okay, but getting injured in a 16k plater an injustice to the horse?

Bottom line, if the trainer knows the horse and is not knowingly risking the horse's welfare by running him in a race, what does it matter what level the horse runs at?

i think the difference may be that if the horse has made you lets say 1mill in purse $ and you feel he is only good enough to run for 16k. then whats the point in running? to make another 10 k in purse $. a horse like tour of the cat is a 10yo g probably every time he goes out there is a certain % he will break. so whats the use. however if you feel he is good enough to run in a stake the obvious problems that usually come with age probably havent shown as much yet. just thinking out loud.

[slotdirt]

I don't have a problem with running horses in 16k claimers; I simply didn't particularly enjoy seeing this horse dropped to that level.

[Linny]

Originally Posted by MISTERGEE

i think the difference may be that if the horse has made you lets say 1mill in purse $ and you feel he is only good enough to run for 16k. then whats the point in running? to make another 10 k in purse $. a horse like tour of the cat is a 10yo g probably every time he goes out there is a certain % he will break. so whats the use. however if you feel he is good enough to run in a stake the obvious problems that usually come with age probably havent shown as much yet. just thinking out loud.

While not the case here, remember that older horses with high earnings probably didn't win that money for the current owners. A horse with $500k in earnings at $16k today may have won graded races long ago but the current owner may have claimed him for $30k 3 months ago, has 90 days of day rates and vet/farrier/chiro/etc into him and needs to win a race so he drops him. Is it fair that this owner (who is probably a smaller guy than the one he started with) gets stuck with the "we have to stop on him" phase of his career.
If I had earned $1m from a horse, no way would I be running him for a low tag. In fact, if he were ever claimed from me, I probably go take him back. It's not the same when all that purse money is in someone else's account.
I don't think that trainers should intentionally enter a "ready to break" horse and sadly it happens more than any of us want to see. As a bettor I have to decide if the drop is trying to pick up a purse or trying to lure some poor sap into claiming a seriously sore horse.
From a "human" standpoint I hate to think of the potential havoc a can breakdown cause in terms of human injury. As someone who likes horses, I hate to see them injured at all but especially in a catastrophic breakdown, falling to the ground and suffering a lot of pain, even if it is only for a short time. I hate to see them literally run till they kill themselves. I also hate the effect it has on the sport in general. Think of Barbaro and Eight Belles and how many people asked you how you could be involved in a game that would do that to such lovely animals.

[Cajungator26]

I Papi Chullo.

[my miss storm cat]

How sad.

http://www.greenbutgame.org/2009/07/08/rip-papi-chullo/

It is with regret that we announce the death of Papi Chullo who died this morning. An necropsy performed by Dr. Clifford Bradford indicated that the young stallion suffered a heart attack.

Papi Chullo, a Graded Stakes winner of 7 races and US$390,062.00 endeared himself to racing fans throughout the United States. He arrived in Jamaica to stand at Mammee Ridge Farm, and became an immediate favourite of the staff and the local community alike.

Two mares have been confirmed to be in foal to the late Papi Chullo.

He will be missed.

[Sightseek]

This is probably one of those moments where you had to be there, but when Funny Cide ran at Saratoga there were lots of people pressed against the paddock rail all looking at Funny. Papi Chullo was being circled around the tree next to him and the groom yelled to the crowd: "Papi Chullo Fan Club - Free to Enter!"

RIP Papi.