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Quelle Farce: that was my initial reaction. They’ve lost a few good horses recently. And, although I’m not implying that it is the main reason, they’ve gained a lot of new horses and owners due Corach Ramblers success and if anything tragic happened to him it wouldn’t be good for the yard. All I could think about during the National after I’d heard that he’d fallen riderless at the second fence was whether or not he was ok so I’m relieved that he’s retired in one piece.
Yes moehat I was dreading seeing a fence two bypass but there wasn’t any he was up and walked back to stables x
I am of course delighted that Corach Rambler retires in good health, and that he will have a home for life where he will rightly be adored.
But I also can’t help but feel sad that he has been retired at only 10 years old and after so few races. The longevity of careers that horses had when I first became interested in racing, and which attracted me to the sport, is rapidly becoming a thing of the past.
Nowadays it seems that as soon as a good horse has one or two bad races, people want it to be retired and everyone is relieved when it happens. And then on the other hand there will be people lamenting small field sizes next winter.
This is not to criticise anyone who has praised the decision to retire Corach Rambler as I know people simply want the best for him and his connections. But I do have to wonder what the future holds for the sport when even racing fans seem to be so keen for star horses to cease to be raced.
Still think it’s a strange decision to retire Corach but they know him best , not surprised to see Nubre being retired , hope both have long happy retirement
I hadn’t realised just how many races Corach Rambler had actually won. And Nationals and Gold Cups take a lot out of a horse. I guess that, at Punchestown Derek realised that the horse had lost the confidence that had made him so good.
” I do have to wonder what the future holds for the sport when even racing fans seem to be so keen for star horses to cease to be raced”.
To be fair Marlingford, I think there’s a particular burden of responsibility on connections of Grand National winners, particularly one as popular as Corach Rambler and that’s echoed by racing fans. You can imagine the media attention and accusations if anything happened to the horse, as well as the damage to the sport’s image.
I also think we all know that, while he could well still win good races, his best days are now behind him. Somebody posted a photo of him in the paddock at Punchestown and I have never seen a horse looking more anxious and miserable so I think it’s the right decision.
Good point but anyone who was planning on backing him ante post for the 2025 National will probably appreciate it.
HDLG – He will be turning 11 next season and horses tend to be on the downgrade when they hit that age and as I said in an earlier post, what is there for him now really………
I doubt connections have any desire to expose him to carrying big weights in the big handicaps and as he clearly shows his best form in the spring that really only leaves the Gold Cup and the National as viable races and the stark truth is he is not good enough to win a Gold Cup and he is probably now not good enough to conceed weight to younger rivals in a National.
It is the right decision to bow out and I hope he has a long, happy and varied retirement……maybe an Aintree ambassador role?
How do we know that his “best days are now behind him”?!? Corach had just run a career best in the Gold Cup and then came down at the first in the National. How can anyone tell how he would have performed that day?
How many National winners have travelled as well as he did in 23? It was only his tendency to pull himself up that stopped him winnning by twenty lengths.
I have no problem if the people who know Corach best feel he shouldn’t go on any longer but I would have loved to have seen him in one more National.
As LD73 says, handicaps are now out of bounds so the option is to keep getting beaten in top class races for a season in the hope he can win the National again or retirement. I fully understand why they chose the latter.
Corach ran his best race only two months ago. I am not sure why the fact he may possibly not be able to repeat it is sufficient justification to retire him. Very few horses can win every race they take part in.
Thank goodness the connections of countless other star Jumps horses such as Red Rum, Desert Orchid and Kauto Star did not give up when their horses reached age 10. All of these horses had periods without success before achieving some of their most memorable victories at older ages.
I think star horses act best as ambassadors for racing when they are actually racing. If we are so afraid of something bad befalling them and the negative PR consequences, I would again question if we should ever be racing any horses at all. I also find it puzzling that some racing fans who seem keen to call for star horses to be retired quickly will then lament making the National fences easier.
As I say, I’m not making these comments to criticise Corach’s connections or anyone who has praised the decision. I just think the trend of retiring star Jumps horses earlier and earlier, and campaigning them so timidly, is not good for the future of the sport.
For some reason, when pondering on the decision to retire Corach I think back to another highly intelligent horse, Golden Miller, who took a dislike to Aintree and, after winning one National never ran well there again, supposedly because of being put off at a jump one year by the flash from a photographers camera.
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