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I am only referring to this specific case, Gareth – that is the point.
I have nothing against running good horses in International races and welcome the attitude of people like Lord Derby with his ambitious campaigning of Ouija Board.
I have got something against a horse that has already run in 7 Group 1s and won 4 of them being sent over to America (on the back of a gruelling Arc) to run on the wrong ground ~ and I have got something against then jetting the same horse half way round the world to embarrass himself and connections running when not even half fit.
TDK
Did horse that won KG look like it had enough, did horse that won Arc look like it had enough?
Did horse that ran at Monmouth look like it had enough?
Not at all, Probably yes and definitely yes.
Ouija Board never had a campaign that involved the Royal Ascot, King George, Juddmonte, Irish Champion, Arc, Breeders Cup and Hong Kong when 30% fit. It was a thoroughly ridiculous way to campaign the horse.
Ouija Board had a campaign which involved the Dubai Sheema Classic at Nad Al Sheba, the QEII Cup at Sha Tin, the Coronation Cup at Epsom, the Prince of Wales at Royal Ascot, the Eclipse at Sandown, the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood, the Irish Champion at Leopardstown, the BC Filly & Mare Turf at Churchill Downs and the Japan Cup in Tokyo.
9 Group 1 races in 6 countries in 8 months.
And they were still about to run her back in Hong Kong when she was injured and retired.
They never ran her when grossly unfit and wouldnt have contemplated doing so.
Her last season was a remarkable campaign in fairness, but they always ran her on her ground and there was never any sense they were flogging a dead horse.
I am only referring to this specific case, Gareth – that is the point.
And I am pointing out that your attitude to this specific case, if applied across the board, would be to the detriment of the sport.
I have nothing against running good horses in International races and welcome the attitude of people like Lord Derby with his ambitious campaigning of Ouija Board.
Only as long as the horse still has "something to prove", presumably?
Gareth – the point I was making was that it only really makes sense to run a horse under the wrong conditions or when it has had a lot of racing if there is some kind of upside.
A horse that has won a King George, Irish Champion and Arc in the same season has very littleto prove, so why tarnish his reputation by running him when conditions weren’t at all in his favour in the BC and then when he had virtually no chance in HK??
I find it bizarre that after two heavy defeats by horses that shouldnt have been able to live with DT, this campaigning at the end of his career is being defended
It wasnt just the conditions at monmouth that was the problem, it was the track which was very very tight for such a huge horse. And even if it hadnt rained, then surely the surface was a real issue?
Comparisons with OB are weird. She wasnt humiliated…
I find it bizarre that after two heavy defeats by horses that shouldnt have been able to live with DT, this campaigning at the end of his career is being defended
Some people will defend anything to do with Coolmore, Clivex. You get it a lot on this forum.
I am only referring to this specific case, Gareth – that is the point
I wouldnt apply it across the board though, so your point is irrelevant.
Why use the word "like" in the following, if you’re only taking about this specific case?
There is of course nothing wrong with running in Japan or HK, but I don’t think it is a sensible route for a horse like Dylan Thomas who has a) had plenty of hard races this season and b) has absolutely nothing to prove in this kind of company anyway (he was by far the best horse in the line up on paper)
You’re clearly saying there that horses who, like Dylan Thomas, have had
a) plenty of hard races
and
b) are obviously superior to their potential rivals
shouldn’t be asked to run in the big end-of-season international races.
If you’re only talking specifically about Dylan Thomas then fine.
The comment by Jenny Chapman that DT looked like a mare in foal was over the top and IMO a silly throwaway comment – regardless of the result.
While he was carrying extra condition, put on while hanging around quarantine, he did not look so fat there should have been doubts about him running.Thursday morning trackwork..
Friday morning trackwork..
He was given plenty of work in the week, but the race was hardly run to suit given the slow speed (25.9 the first furlong).
He tracked Doctor Dino went he went for home but yes his condition gave out. To suggest they shouldn’t have run him though – well where do you stop?Maybe in the Sprint with Why Be and Miss Andretti shouldn’t have run either, because it was always clear they were never going to handle the RH turn from their outside gates – as it was they finished 11th and 10th respectively – hardly a glorious episode in their career.
However they came through it unscathed and both ate up the next morning.Gareth – you are clutching a straws now. Forget the semantics – it was an appalling piece of campaigning from Coolmore running him in the BC and HK.
End of story.
He’s also been described as a ‘huge horse’ in this thread. Obviously if you’ve seen him in the flesh before you can compare that to what he looks like here.
If you haven’t then how can you categorically declare he is fat? Horses carry varying conditions and they are not necessarily ‘fat’ because they don’t look like for example Vallee Enchantee who had a pencil like build.
Yes he was carrying excess condition but not enough to say he shouldn’t have run.I find it bizarre that after two heavy defeats by horses that shouldnt have been able to live with DT, this campaigning at the end of his career is being defended
I find it bizarre that aiming the best 12f horse in the world to one of the biggest 12f races in the world is being attacked.
It wasnt just the conditions at monmouth that was the problem, it was the track which was very very tight for such a huge horse.
The configuration of the track alone would not be a good enough reason not to run him in a race where he had plenty in hand.
And even if it hadnt rained, then surely the surface was a real issue?
How so?
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