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Thread: Muscle Massive (Prematurely) Retired

  1. #21
    Junior Member Foal tamarind will become famous soon enough
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    Personally I would like to see all horses race as 4 year olds but I understand why owners of those that have potential in the breeding shed want to shut them down at 3. Is it that they are trained and raced too hard at two and three and the potential is too high for them to look bad at four becuase they are all nursing nagging lameness issues.Are the tracks too hard creating curbs and legiment and hoof problems.There are no answers to many of these questions but it seems the norm for the to quit at 3.

  2. #22
    Super Moderator Stallion mango will become famous soon enough mango's Avatar
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    I think racing at 4 would sought the men out from the boy's, personally when i'm looking at a stallion for my mare's i like to see that horse race in the open ranks. Horses such as Artsplace and Art Major raced at 4 with great success and it also goes to show how strong and sound Art Major was as he had a big 3yr old season of 31 starts for 20wins and 5 places and then come back at 4 for 11 starts 8wins 3 places.

  3. #23
    triplev123
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    Strong and sound. You know Mango, I've heard 'The Bill & Monte Show' called a lot of different things over the years...but that's a new one. :-P

  4. #24
    Super Moderator Stallion mango will become famous soon enough mango's Avatar
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    Hi Triplev123
    Sounds like a person with your wealth of knowledge should be running the show, i don't mind you bagging my post but if your going to reply to it you could at least explain your reason for not agreeing. And sorry never heard of the ''Bill and Monte show'' if i wanted the one line smart ass remarks i would just comment on harnesslink (main page) and wait for (lol) to reply. This is a forum for people to discuss harness racing and put ideas out there and get replies not to bag other people's comments. So please if you have know sensible remarks go else where.

  5. #25
    Administrator 3YO admin will become famous soon enough admin's Avatar
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    Dave Sanders wrote an an article on Harnesslink today along similar lines:


    ----
    You can bet your bottom dollar that the Australasian interest in next season's Prix de l'Arc will be at fever pitch, with their new superstar So You Think having been sent to Europe with the great race his goal, and the benefits will flow to the Australian and New Zealand breeding industry, much in the same way as it did after Balmerino raced in the 1970s.

    Contrast this to the harness code where another potential superstar, Rock N Roll Heaven has been retired to stud to statisfy theinterests of the breeding industry, and to drive another dagger into the heart of the horseracing industry.

    It is no coincidence that the racing codes which are struggling the most, have this in common, that their stars are pulled from the stage just when they have piqued the interest of a fickle public, who have many other competing entertainment forms, which know the value of star power.

    It is the equivalent of David Beckham or Richie McCaw being retired to the coaching ranks after their first brilliant season, to maintain their skills knowledge in a coaching capacity.

    While it makes perfect sense from a breeding perspective, it is lunacy from a sporting perspective.

    Last year British flat racing, which is struggling and in dire straits, had the first true champion in probably 20 years. Sea The Stars was a shining light in a tunnel of darkness with his brilliant wins in the Derby and the Arc De Triomphe.

    And just when the public had started to take interest again in the flat racing game again, he is gone, wrapped up in a bundle of euros and heading for a stud in Ireland.

    The same with Rock N Roll Heaven - just as we are getting to know him, and to marvel at his brilliance, he is outta here to satisfy the demands of a few wealthy breeders, while Jo Public punter gets another reason for going elsewhere to a sport that gives back to its fans, not flips them the bird.

    And in a sport which is nearly devoid of superstar status, and in a country in which sports rely almost exclusively on star power (take Tiger Woods out of golf and Michael Jordan out of Basketball, and look at how well the sports fared) - you've got to ask why.

    It is not that way in two very successful corners of the horse racing game, Britain and Ireland's National Hunt and European trotting, where their stars continue for up to ten years, and the punters and the general public get to know them, love them and keep coming back in droves.

    Last year's Cheltenham Festival was packed and interest was the highest its ever been, simply because two stars of the game, Denman and Kauto Star, were to renew a rivalry that had been building up over four or five years. That neither won was part of the appeal, the delicious uncertainty which keeps punters coming back.

    In France and Sweden it is quite common for horses to race until they are ten or morein top company, and many will serve a few mares while still racing.

    It is probably why the Australian thoroughbred industry thrives, in that they do not rate a horse a champion until it has shown itself to be successful at Weight For Age. Even the latest star So You Think will keep racing, and keep bringing fans to the sport - even if it is in Europe.

    Indeed, the Australasian breeding industry will benefit far more than it would have So You Think had retired to stud.

    Maybe the powers that be in harness racing should think about that fora moment.

    For Rock N Roll Heaven's retirement is an indictment on the shortsightedness of this industry.

    Sports is about star power, and it is time that the breeding side of the operation pulled its head in and started thinking about the good of the game and not the size of their bank balances in the short term.

    In the long term, if there is no-one watching your sport, they won't be wanting your horses.

    Dave SANDERS (Harness racing breeder and journalist)

    http://www.harnesslink.com/www/Article.cgi?ID=85647
    Please read the rules before posting.

    Harnesslink Marketing Manager

  6. #26
    Member Yearling jammsb will become famous soon enough
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    I don't disagree with Mr Sandler's article. However I wonder if Mr Sandler owned Rocknroll Heaven and he was handed the chance to acquire guaranteed millions of dollars on the one hand as opposed to taking the risks associated with racing and dealing with a fickle breeding industry where two or three consecutive losses could halve the value of his horse, what he would do? Perhaps he would do exactly what he is preaching. If so, I say bravo to him. I am neither extraordinarily wealthy or impecunious. However if I were presented with the opportunity of virtually guaranteeing my family's future I think I would likely cash in my chips when presented with the opportunity to do so. If I were some rich oil sheik, where a couple of million here or there would not make a difference I would likely do otherwise. Its easy to tell others what to do with their wealth or resources.

  7. #27
    triplev123
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    My fault for factoring in at least some level of assumed knowledge on your part there Mango.
    The Bill & Monte Show is of course Bill Robinson and Monte Gelrod, the two rather infamous and hopeless recidivist chemical offenders who basically co-trained Art Major to grow not only one leg but two after the horse left the barn of a real horseman in Chris Ryder. Incidentally whilst he was there...even on the best day of his life...the horse could not best Ryder's other trainee, McArdle.

    As for the article above, it is yet another shameful example of someone with ZERO FINANCIAL STAKE in the outcome telling people who do what they should be doing with their horses.
    Not only have we seen the ridiculous idea of returning to limited books in the Southern Hemisphere raise its empty head but on top of that now some feel it necessary to tell the owners of these top three-year-old colts that they should be racing them on at 4-5-6+. What a terrific outcome those two pearler ideas would serve to produce. A given horse races on until he's 7-8 or even 9 or 10 and then retires from the track to serve a book of 140 mares. That's going straight to the Pool Room.

  8. #28
    Super Moderator Stallion mango will become famous soon enough mango's Avatar
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    Well then thanks for that info it would of been good without trying to be a smart ass but i suppose for someone like you that would be impossible lol.

  9. #29
    triplev123
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    Hey Mango, do you think that maybe you could refrain from further speculation about the mental capacity of my gluteus maximus? That'd be nice.

  10. #30
    Junior Member Foal k8burger will become famous soon enough
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    I have to be honest--I am far less impressed with Muscle Massive than his big brother and even more so when you note the elder stands for half the price in a pretty great program (Ontario). Just my two cents but rest assured none of our mares are headed that way. Whereas one of ours is in foal to Muscle Mass.

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