Declans Moon

[Rupert Pupkin]

Originally Posted by stonegossard

I think he was way too aggressive with DM ...running him back 2 weeks after a miseable defeat vs Dixiemeister and those other worldbeaters was really insane/stupid.....its not like he had an easy race...was used hard and ran dead last....then to come back at GG 14 days later...come on....Ellis looks desperate....

They totally spoil that horse. In the morning, they bring him on the track and let him stand and stare for 15 minutes if he wants to. That's what McAnally used to do with John Henry. The difference was that John Henry would go out in the afternoon and win.

Anyway, they treat the horse like royalty. And they give him plenty of time between races but that hasn't been working. They've gone over with him a fine-tooth comb and can't find anything wrong. So it appears that the horse is simply not trying. His last race did not appear to take much out of him so they figured they would wheel him right back in an easy spot. It obviously didn't work, but as bad as he ran I don't think even four weeks would have made a difference.

Sometimes it is obvious what is wrong with a horse physically but other times it is not. Since horses can't speak, sometimes trainers have to to try to be psychologists and figure out what is going on in their head. What they had been doing with DM did not appear to be working so they figured they would try something different. I can't fault them for that. I don't like bringing horses back in two or even three weeks. But in this case, I can understand why they did it. And as I said before, as bad as he ran today I don't think it made much difference.

I still think there may be something wrong with the horse that they have not been able to diagnose.