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Really saddened by this. Can’t help thinking he was let down, particularly when it was obvious that returning to racing wasn’t working for him.
I’m not sure it was perfectly obvious that racing wasn’t for him. It’s not like he’d finished tailed off on all of his starts since returning, he ran to an RPR of 101 at Chelmsford which wasn’t too shabby. A lot of hyperbolic stuff on Twitter claiming, with the benefit of hindsight, he should never have been close to a racecourse but I remain far from convinced.
I haven’t seen any conversations on Twitter and certainly won’t be seeking them out. However, he went from beating Blue Point & Mehmas in a Group 1 to struggling on the all-weather. Tailed off last of 4 in his penultimate start and ending his life as a 25-1 outsider in a handicap. Deserved better.
He did deserve better. This was the immediate instinctive reaction by everyone in the room when it was announced before the next race. Whatever the figures say, several people’s (racing people’s) unthinking reaction was despair. And the first comment was ‘He didn’t deserve that’ and the second ‘That’s just greed’. Don’t know if it was or not, but everyone reacted in the same way.
I agree with Tonge and Bonanza he should have been better cared for and believe that once a horse has been retired to stud whether firing blanks or churning out Champions the Stud should take on the duty of care for that horse not send him back to the racecourse to eventually end up how he did.
Are no lessons ever learnt from George Washington’s terrible demise at the hands of greedy owners?Rest easy beautiful boy, you were so loved by those that surrounded you at the end but this should never have happened
Things turn out best for those who make the best of how things turn out...I suppose it can work for some (e.g. Barney Roy, Al Kazeem) but it’s quickly clear whether they have retained their ability/enthusiasm. Didn’t seem to be the case with The Last Lion sadly.
My thoughts are similar to TheKryptonFactor’s.
I see no reason why horses that have gone to stud should not return to training as long as they are treated well. Should Snow Leopardess, who has undergone the much more arduous experience of giving birth to a foal, be retired immediately?
Don’t get me wrong, I certainly don’t want to see the heroes of yesteryear trailing round at the back in low grade contests. But The Last Lion had only had four starts since his return to racing, and had shown decent form in his penultimate start before what proved to be his final race.
What happened to The Last Lion was desperately sad, but it was a tragic racing incident that happens from time to time. I do not think connections should be blamed for racing him any more than connections of any other horse. There is no evidence that he was being mistreated or treated disrespectfully as far as I can see.
RIP The Last Lion
Not sure I implied that he was mistreated by connections or anyone else for that matter. I just thought he deserved better and I noted the instinctive reactions of a number of racing people who were with me at the time- instinctive because they were without thought, just what they felt as an immediate reaction. People who watch or work in racing every day, pretty much.
Which to me says something. I think that the fact that he had so few races and wasn’t doing that well showed – to me at least – that racing maybe wasn’t the best option for him. He was only 8, so in my head, maybe he could have had a few more years doing something he could be better suited to.The Last Lion certainly deserved better than the sad fate that he met Bonanzaboy, as do all horses who meet a premature end.
But I do not think we can conclude he was unsuited to a return racing after just three starts, one of which he’d performed well on.
His connections presumably knew him better than anyone else, and my thoughts are to assume they were making reasonable demands of him based on what he was showing them unless there’s clear evidence to the contrary.
I know these things are always emotive, and apologies if it seems like I misconstrued your words, though I was responding to the thread in general rather than any specific poster
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