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Collapsed in the stalls at York – only 4 years old and this would have been his 45th race … surely far too much being asked of him …???
This year he has raced at least twice and sometimes 4 times a month; last year 18 as a 3 year old … 13 races as a 2 year old – are there no rules about the number of times a horse can run? There should be to protect them from being over exploited …
I don’t know anything about his trainer Alastair Lidderdale – does he do this sort of thing regularly with his horses?? Can’t credit the owners wanting their lovely horse to make so many efforts …At first glance, it does look a bit iffy but on closer inspection, one notes that;-
1) He was coming off a five week break
2) He was generally holding his form prior to his break
3) He’s a sprinter. Sprinters can stand roughly the same amount of racing as a greyhound and they typically run on a weekly basis.Also, this was
only
his fifth start for Alistair Lidderdale under whom he had a relatively sparse campaign.
I don’t think his background had any bearing on today’s unfortunate incident. Nevertheless, the question of whether or not a horse should be campaigned so extensively before they are fully mature is one that does deserve attention from the regulators.
Sadly he was also entered up to run on the 30th May, 2nd June and the 22nd of June in the Wokingham for which he was 66/1. Most of his racing career he was trained by David Evans and owned by Wayne Clifford and recently acquired by Chris Beek Racing.
Did some research into horses currently owned by Chris Beek Racing and they currently have a 6yo by Bahamian Bounty named Fault, originally trained by Roger Charlton. He has now run 73 times 8 x as a 2yo (including 3 x times in the month of August). 16 x as a 3yo (5 x times in October) and 21 times as a 4yo (4 x times in April). He then went on to run 19 times as a 5yo and has run 9 times so far in his 6th year. He has hardly had any breaks between turf and AW racing.
This is totally unacceptable and surely someone should be monitoring the times that a trainer and owner go to the well with their horses and a reasonable break of at least 6 weeks between turf and AW should be the law for these brave servants.
Two year olds should only be allowed to run 4 times in their first year, to allow their limbs to develop. Some just cannot take the strain and don’t make it beyond those first years.Sad that the sport we love is concentrating all its efforts into promoting why people should go racing whilst neglecting the welfare of what could well turn out to be the future champions of tomorrow. I would like to see them set up a Welfare Watch for Racehorses now, both NH and flat, to promote a better life for those who give their all so that we may have an enjoyable day at the races, sadly for Captain Dimitrios and others this will, as always, be too little too late.
Things turn out best for those who make the best of how things turn out...Thank you both for your info/comments. Although sprinters do run over the minimum distance they do go VERY fast and they must surely put their whole body under alot of pressure allbeit for a relatively briefer time than others …??
Hi Ten Plus,
Although it does seem to reflect badly on a trainer when they lose a horse after a heavy workload, David Evans has shown himself to be adept in bringing improved form out of horses with similar schedules.
Carcinetto
seemed to run every few days a couple of years ago, but won a valuable handicap at Chester from a career high mark after being very busy all year.
Star Rover
was another who thrived as a hard-working two year old for David Evans despite being very busy. You could argue he didn’t train on (or grow a single inch!) from 2 to 3, but his pedigree suggested that would happen in any case.
RIP Captain Dimitrios
Or perhaps some of you could get your facts right before posting such crap on a forum.
Do you not think that perhaps connections of the horse are absolutely devastated about losing one of their better and favourite horses. No ????
Also it helps if you actually know what happened before you start making accusations.
For the record, Captain Dimitrios tried to jump early thrusting his head forwards and got it lodged in the stalls. Because his head was down his neck was arched, Katia tried to pull him up, but he twisted and broke his neck. He died from this. He would have experienced little pain, and it happened very quick.
So all your bollox about a horse being "over raced" or that it collapsed because it ran too much, you really are talking out of your arse. Captain Dimitrios sadly got fractious in the stalls and broke his neck causing an instant death. This could have happened at any time and has no bearing on how much the horse has or hasn’t run.
Making statements and accusations about something you know nothing about, especially on a public network is totally uncalled for, so perhaps in future you might like to get your facts right before posting !!
Mr Beek
Thank you for exercising your right to reply and airing your position. Whilst there are many calls for greater transparency and disclosure when it comes to the gambling side of the sport, the issue of welfare is one where transparency and disclosure is considerably more urgent for the sake of the sport. If more connections followed this example then the imperative progress in this area will be greatly accelerated.
Your explanation and clarification of the circumstances which led to the untimely loss Captain Dimitrios is greatly appreciated and gratefully welcomed.
The issue of racehorses being over-raced is one that concerns many involved in the sport and is an area of discussion which is entitled to scrutiny and consideration. However, following your rebuttal along with the acknowledgement that over-racing is irrelevant in this instance, this thread isn’t the place for such deliberation.
Sincere commiserations to you and everybody connected with the horse.
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Mr Beek
Your explanation and clarification of the circumstances which led to the untimely loss Captain Dimitrios is greatly appreciated and gratefully welcomed.
Hear hear. My condolences to you and all connected with your horse.
Mr Beek
Echoing everything said by Bachelor’s Hall..I too would like to offer commiserations and condolences to yourself and all concerned with Captain Dimitrios.
It was a horrific accident and so close to that suffered by Gray Pearl in the stalls whilst loading up to run in the 1,000 Guineas. I witnessed that first hand having been there and could not begin to imagine how a jockey, trainers and owners cope with the loss of a beloved horse, and am so sorry for your loss.
Things turn out best for those who make the best of how things turn out...Thanks to chrisbeek for his clarification on what actually happened here, and I don’t blame him for being angry. A horrible tragic accident which bears out what I just wrote on the Brindisi Breeze thread about never knowing what these beautiful and fantastic, but highly-strung animals are going to do next to damage themselves.
RIP to him I would be very interested to know if my personal pet hate about flat racing, (ie, horses which cause a lot of problems and time wasting because they won’t load into the stalls), had any bearing on why Captain Dimitrios became fractious and over-excited.
Had he been kept waiting too long in the stall? Or maybe all the disruption of getting one in near to him set him off?
Link to a video about my boy
What a wonderful tribute to a much loved and beautiful horse, I’m not ashamed to admit it made me cry.
If all your horses are as well loved and cared for as this brave boy then nothing more could be asked.
All good wishes for the future to you and your team.Things turn out best for those who make the best of how things turn out...That’s a lovely tribute. I ride horses, and they’re not thoroughbreds (far from it) but I know how easy it is to go from calm and peaceful to hysterical spooking. Very sad and I feel sorry for connections in this case.
Hi
Another load of rubbish from people who have no idea about horses They are borne to run ,it’s what they do. A training technique used very successfully by a number of trainers Dandy Nicholls, David Evans, Milton Bradley, Ruth Carr to name a few is to run them often and simply turn them out at home instead of training gallops. I would also that humans also manage to run several times in one day when heats are involved so put your bleeding hearts away and stop talking rubbish about things of which you have no knowledgeI’d just like to point out that Ten Plus is very concerned about horse welfare and does more for that cause than most of us on this forum, highlighting issues that would often go unreported. In this case it was midguided but was done with the best intentions. A very sad incident for all concerned and, after the 1,000 gns something that needs to be addressed by the racing authorities.
RIP to him 
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