I'll Have Another injured, withdrawn, retired..

[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