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after seeing the head on footage which indicated the horse was veering so badly left and about to keel over while still getting the kitchen sick,
That’s just a wee bit of creative license, I think – the horse didn’t actually go down until he got back to the paddock, having looked well enough within himself again in the winner’s enclosure. Hanging relative to the whip up the run-in – certainly. Already dead on his feet by then – I’d suggest not.
gc
Adoptive father of two. The patron saint of lower-grade fare. A gently critical friend of point-to-pointing. Kindness is a political act.
Jeremy –
You make some good points there, and perhaps I shouldn’t be so quick to point the finger.
A simple "go easy on him if he’s knackered" might have paid dividends though. Added to that, Paddy Brennan was doing what he does best, by obtaining the best possible finishing position in a strong driving finish. No doubt he’d have suffered abuse had he eased off him – but I’ve little doubt it was the last furlong that killed the horse.
I’m careful not to abuse creative license – I had heard the horse collapsed after the winning post, fair enough if it was otherwise. He looked damn jaded to me judging by the head on, though.
Personally, I’m going to let this thread lie. Everyone has their own way of thinking about these incidents.
No worries, Dan, argued with good grace as always. Little, if anything, evokes as much of an emotional response from true racing fans as the sad demise of those sent out to entertain us, and it was always inevitable that last night’s incident would be interpreted a number of different ways.
It is noted that another 13yo, Barry Potts’ Dream Castle, made all to land the claiming hurdle at the same venue this afternoon. Whilst he hasn’t been campaigned with quite the same frequency as Mighty Fine of late, his profile is not dissimilar in being an injury-plagued (broken down four times) but still thoroughly enthusiastic animal currently in the best form of his life. As such I wouldn’t have thought Mighty Fine’s sad end will influence Potts to consider calling time with his charge, nor really should it.
Jeremy
(graysonscolumn)Adoptive father of two. The patron saint of lower-grade fare. A gently critical friend of point-to-pointing. Kindness is a political act.
Did Best Mate drop dead on the course as a result of over racing? NO!
If Mighty Fine had been suffering the onset of a heart problem during the race it would not have won and most probably not have finished the race. The fact it died immediately after a race has all the do-gooders jumping on the bandwagon.
Mighty Fine ran an excellent race and, yes, he was pushed out on the line but no more so than many other horses are. If the jockey had stopped riding and the horse had been ok then we would have seen all the punters crying out that it was a non-tryer and the horse had been pulled etc. etc.
The horse was ok coming in to the winners enclosure, hot, blowing and sweating like every other horse at the end of the race. It was only on leaving the winners enclosure that he began to stagger and crumpled into the rails in the paddock. It was very distressing for everyone who witnessed it, in particular the general public who have probably never encountered anything like it before, but he died doing what he loved. I must say I would rather see an old racehorse die quickly after winning a race, doing what he was bred to do, and giving his owners and trainers so much pleasure than spend his years forgotten about in a field.
All credit must also be passed on to the racecourse staff who dealt most impressively with a very challenging and delicate situation. I have been in charge of a horse when it has died on a racecourse and it is a horrid situation but the staff at Perth were fantastic.
I was also thoroughly impressed with the horse’s owner who did not shy away from the truth and told the crowd over the tannoy that the horse had had a heart attack and died.Couldn’t agree with you more Lekha. I had the misfortune to be at Nottingham in Feb 1995 when the famous 17 year old Hunter Chaser Eastern Destiny won. I rushed round to the enclosure to greet him and I was parallel with him as he walked up the chute & collpased. The vets were there in seconds with oxygen, but he had gone quick as wink. I was so upset, but when I thought about it afterwards, he died doing something he loved. To this day there is a Hunter Chase at Bangor named in honour of James Griffiths who used to ride him before he sadly died & the horse who belonged to the Griffiths family.
The Slack’s feel that Blockley abused their former charge by racing him so frequently.To quote Ken Slack – son of the former owner and trainer :-
"we’d had MF since he was a yearling and he was something of a family pet. We were sad when we lost him. We were disappointed to see the old horse run into the ground the way he was. We are all upset that he’s died before he could start enjoying himself in a field".
Blockley’s response :- "It’s sour grapes"
Blockley’s correct. This ‘family pet’ tripe really annoys me. Hughie Morrison was the same. If he and the Slack’s were happy to run their ‘pet’ in claimers and sellers, to use them to pinch easy prize money against inferior horses, then they can’t moan when another trainer claims him to do the same. Interesting that the Slacks allowed Blockley to buy Mighty Fine back in for 5,800 gns at Rasen. The truth of the matter is the horse was better than ever and clearly thriving for Blockley until his death which really could not have been forseen.
I had the pleasure of having the best seat in the house on the horse 10 times in his career including 4 wins, 2 2nd’s, a 3rd and a 4th, i was there on tuesday night so seeing his first and last victories first hand was quite moving.from what i saw the horse looked as well as ever and happy. he died definately doing what he loved. having had several differences with the slacks in the past few years i was not sad to see him claimed but was hoping he would return at some point to enjoy retirement. he was the horse that got me going and gave me my biggest ‘day in the sun’ i will be eternally greatful to old ‘Mighty.’4
Don’t really want to get involved in this argeument, so I will
The point that I would like to throw in the air is – haven’t many horses died of an heart attack while stood in their horse boxes at home? Haven’t horses died of an heart attack on the gallops?
My friend of 35 years of age died of an heart attack and he was as fit as a flee.
My point is, not all heart attacks are as a result of being knackered, in fact it can be quite the opposite, you can have an heart attack when your in the best shape of your life – and no doubt Mighty Fine was!
Mike
These threads make me wan’t to smash my computer, these things happen get over it, and if you feel so upset over the death of a racehorse there is a memorial thread.
There is people been blown up virtually every week by car bombs in Iraq, that to me is horrific human suffering, and somehow the death of a racehorse is the end of the world, "Spare Me" please. Most racehorses are better looked after than most family pets, will you people get a bloody life.
A thread on a racing forum makes you want to smash up your computer and you are advising other people to get a life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Colin
A thread on a racing forum makes you want to smash up your computer and you are advising other people to get a life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Colin
Just a way of getting a point across Seabird.
As I have already said threads like these are ridiculous, when you look at the incredible amount of human suffering that goes on in the world.Seabird,
Don’t discourage him – think of the benefits.
AP
We must go for a drink sometime AP, mines a Gin & Bitter Lemon, what do you fancy ?
I am with Madman on this one, threads like this make me reach for the sick bag. I particularly detest the phrase often trotted out "so-and-so died doing what he loved" – as though he could talk and had passed on this information.
We breed horses, we race them, and some, particularly over obstacles, are going to die at the races. When I have been present at a horse’s being put down, I have never failed to be moved by the nobility of the scene – the sheer size and strength which seconds before sprang with life now still and silent. A heavy fall still makes me gasp with its sickening impact, as does the sight of a horse collapsing, but the eulogising afterwards, which reaches its gruesome culmination in books like Mottershead’s on Persian Punch, actually demeans the noble qualities of the savage, dumb beast by attempting to impose upon it human qualities.
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