- This topic has 3 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 15 years, 1 month ago by
.
- Posts
14 years old, 2 year gap in his race record from 2009 to 2011, run 3 times this year, pulled up every time. RP from latest run – toiled round in last until pulled up.
Please retire him – don’t want to see his name under the saddest topic on here….
"jumped very slowly 1st, lumbered round in last, badly tailed off when pulled up 8th"
"Held up, mistake 1st, struggling and behind 3rd, tailed off when pulled up before 5th"
ugh. Were I in RFC one thing I’d be looking to do is address the "tailed off" issue. I’m sure it’s not easy because I know some sharp trainers will send out a horse to pop round and pick up prize money in a small field but that’s usually easy to spot compared to a horse that’s struggling.
However when you have a horse that is regularly earning comments like that, he shouldn’t be running – whatever age he is. It’s unkind on the horse and it’s bad for the sport to see a horse struggling round. At the very least there should be some mechanism for getting the trainer/owner in and having them explain why they continue to compete a horse that can’t compete.
Posting on here won’t help though. If you google the owner/trainer you will find her contact details – why not (politely) write and ask why she is persisting with the old boy?
Looking back through his form, he had a worse run of PU with very similar comments to this in 2005 then suddenly found form and won some races in 2007. A ban on horses with that form would’ve prevented those wins, which is hardly fair. The favourite in yesterday’s race pulled up at the same flight and his 2nd time in 3 runs, should he be banned.
It drives me mad when people call for the likes of this horse, The Tatling et al to be retired. It’s none of your business. At the end of the day the owner/trainer pays an awful lot of money to look after the horse, enter it, bring it to the racecourse, pay jockey etc and they know best when it is time to retire. 14 is old, but far from ancient (Royal Bond ran twice in 2 days at Aintree and won at Killarney as a 15yo, Sonny Somers won twice at 18) and the racecourse vets would stop it running if they didn’t think it was up to it. Maybe the horse likes racing and hates being in a field.
.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.