Tragedy is Nothing New, but it Still Stings

re: Tragedy is Nothing New, but it Still Stings

ctgreyhound — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 04:23:50 GMT

You forgot one Convene. No horse persevered more and overcame more injuries than Wanderin Boy. We are barely into the new season & there have been too many breakdowns & losses of well known horses, let alone those that we will never have a chance to get a glimpse of & cheer on.

re: Tragedy is Nothing New, but it Still Stings

MIKE RELVA — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 23:29:16 GMT

EVERY HORSE DESERVES TESTING,NOT JUST YOUR "MILLION DOLLAR HORSE".

re: Tragedy is Nothing New, but it Still Stings

Springsmom83 — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 02:52:23 GMT

I too saw Go Between's Colonial Derby. I fell in love with Point Given at first sight and I really loved his little chestnut son. I also was a real fan of Alydar who met a truly sinister end. We love and cherish these beautiful and fragile animals. Sadly there are just too many things that can and do go wrong. All we can do is love them, let them go, and keep all of them in our memories.

Denise, my condolences to you, I lost my beloved gelding to colic almost 2 years ago and the pain is still there.

re: Tragedy is Nothing New, but it Still Stings

Karen in Indiana — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 21:28:14 GMT

My son and I were talking just this afternoon as we were watching a race on TV. He was asking questions & I was telling him about how much the horses love to race. We were watching a race at Gulfstream and one of the horses was left behind at the gate & he was asking if that happened often. I told him that you can tell how much horses love to run by watching how they keep racing after they've dumped their rider. They showed a replay of that race, the horse had stumbled so badly her nose hit the dirt, she recovered, was last until the home stretch, and ended up third! If that wasn't pure determination on her part...

re: Tragedy is Nothing New, but it Still Stings

Jim P — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 17:59:28 GMT

"I came to shoot fire": That's what my 21 year old, 5x rescued Thoroughbred mare told me when I got a communicator to try and talk her into more controlled runs because of a navicular bone that's 60% pumice. She's just a step away. "It doesn't hurt enough to stop," she says, "and I take care of myself."

Besides, if this is to be believed (and I do) she's been here before and death isn't much of a consequence; it's just life. This mare does have a presence that I've never seen before. Nothing and nobody has been able to take it away. She's made me rethink death.

I let her run now. I can't take the life she enjoys away just to have her live the life I want. I'll cry for her when she goes just like a cry for all these. By the way, God is touched by his creations.

re: Tragedy is Nothing New, but it Still Stings

Convene — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 23:15:41 GMT

Those divine pastures must be thundering to some incredible match races! Can you imagine them? Lost in the Fog ... Shakis ... Indyanne ... Nashoba's Key ... St. Liam ... Go Between ... Eight Belles ... the list of wonders goes on and on! Whether they're racing or at pasture or in their stalls, the sad truth is that tragedies happen. The important thing is that they love to race (just look how often the riderless horse fights to win all by himself after ditching his jockey!) and that we do right by them while they're here with us. And that we honor them with the best passing possible and cherish their memory. My heart goes out to everyone who has lost a loved horse - owners, trainers, riders and fans. These noble creatures sweeten our journey as nothing else can. Guess I'm a trifle melancholy too ...

re: Tragedy is Nothing New, but it Still Stings

diastu — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 00:32:25 GMT

Da3Hoss, I knew as soon as I hit the send button that I should have said what I did differently. You are absolutely right about the claimer - they all deserve the very best. My intent was more of a wonderment as to why the wealthy owners don't investigate more. The claimer's owner is probably struggling and may not be able to do much fancy testing. I wish it wasn't that way, but as someone who does a ton of animal rescue on a limited budget, I'm never able to save or help as many as I would like.

re: Tragedy is Nothing New, but it Still Stings

sceptre — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 22:48:31 GMT

Once again, more terrible losses-the same that occur on nearly a daily basis. These animals are not expendable, yet many (?most) in the "sport" operate as though they are. These horses simply must be more routinely and far better evaluated this, in addition to providing them the safest possible training and racing conditions science can afford. We devote far too much time and thought on the various pleasurable aspects of the sport (breeding theories, rankings, etc.) and far too little about better protecting these noble creatures.

re: Tragedy is Nothing New, but it Still Stings

JimThomas — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 19:16:21 GMT

Very sad for Greg Gilchrist, who is such a nice man and a great trainer. I followed the Fog for his entire run and was so sad when he died. I saw the Lost in the Fog documentary at a film festival in Las Vegas and thought it captured Greg, Harry Aleo and their beautiful horse perfectly. RIP Indyanne, Lost in the Fog and GoBetween.

re: Tragedy is Nothing New, but it Still Stings

helsbelles — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 19:07:31 GMT

The information that Baffert trained and raced Indyanne's granddam makes sense. He showed his class in the winners circle that day when he said Indian Blessing's victory is a bittersweet one due to what happened to the grey filly. Most likely, Indyanne stepped in one of those uneven spots on this pro-ride surface.

I just want to echo most everyone's introspective points. It is curious how much these racehorses get under your skin. But, that is exactly what makes this unique sport so special. Mrs Jackson said something to that effect, that pain is the price you pay for love. As much as it hurts the fan, I `can only imagine how much worse it is for the caregivers. Did anyone else notice that Indyanne had Lost in the Fog's groom? In an old article, it stated that this groom was Fog's favorite human being. My heartfelt sympathies go out to him and to all the others who cared for her. Greg Gilchrest is so good, too. Remember they retired Smokey Stover, even though he was a gelding, rather than bring him back at a lesser level and "cheapen" him, as they put it? That was so honorable. Indyanne was something very special, and I thought this could be her year to shine. I was very disappointed that she wasn't able to show how wonderful she is at the 2008 Breeder's cup when she had to be scratched due to a fever she spiked after getting stuck in California traffic enroute to SA. I am sure she would have gotten second to Ventura that day, and I consoled myself thinking that next year she will win the BC sprint... not to be though. I feel misled by the information that her injury wasn't that bad after all, and that she didn't need surgery. It didn't square with me... she fractured a sesamoid, so of course she needed surgery. Now we find out it was postponed because of poor blood supply to the leg. RIP beautiful girl, you were a tremendous talent.

And as far as losing Go Between, it is just shocking. My sympathies go out to his connections... what a terrible thing. In the BC Classic he was scaring me a bit by how worked up he was going to post, but Gomez knew how to handle him. He was certainly a gorgeous, talented racehorse. It is starting to dawn on me that this is the reason I treasure horse photos. As someone said, these babies are only with us for a limited time, and the photos are a way of kind of keeping them forever. Go Between certainly had some glorious red bangs, and they kept them untrimmed and in his eyes like a rock star (minor point, but something I'll remember about him). I wonder if Garret Gomez shed a tear or two over Go Between's passing?

re: Tragedy is Nothing New, but it Still Stings

da3hoss — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 12:01:10 GMT

diastu, I have to disagree with you on one point...a $2500 claimer running his untalented heart out for his/her connections is just as deserving of the same level of health check as a Secretariat...that is part of what's wrong with the perception of the "sport" that some are throw-a-ways who don't deserve good care.

I always remember 5-1 at the betting window pays out the same cold, hard cash whether the race is $5 million G1 or $500 race at a Fairgrounds.

re: Tragedy is Nothing New, but it Still Stings

da3hoss — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 11:53:20 GMT

On days like this I have a lot of self examination, why I vicariously live through a sport where so many horses are lost so young, I mean Go Between had just reached the age where he had all his adult teeth, a sport where we talk about how hard it is to get a horse through a 4 year old campaign, that a horse who retires at 10 is an "old" horse, where our great, and not so great, mares routinely die of foaling complications and our favorite stallions like Secretariat, Foolish Pleasure and Sunday Silence die of founder.

The real horse world I live in has mid-late teens horses who routinely compete at the top levels at grueling 3-day Olympic events...where 10 has just matured enough to bee able to begin the rigors of training at the elite levels...

I don't know...today, again, I'm sad and feel I'm part of the problem of babies being used up so early...even I was starting to look at Curlin as an "old" race horse...

re: Tragedy is Nothing New, but it Still Stings

Yvonne Kirby — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 04:47:48 GMT

My heart broke when I watched the race when Indyanne got hurt. I was so sure she was going to beat Indian Blessing. I cried that whole night, but was so happy to hear that she had been saved to be a broodmare. I was shocked yesterday when I logged on and found that she had been euthanized. I was thinking that she has now joined Mr. Aleo and Lost in the Fog. I was also very upset to hear that Go Between died suddenly - he was one of my beautiful favorites and I will miss them very much. Please, convey mine and my husband's condolences to their connections. And please, can we be sure that the synthetic track is the way to go? There have been so many breakdowns recently of these beautiful creatures. May God bless each and everyone of them as they race their hearts out for us.

Yvonne and Maurice Kirby

re: Tragedy is Nothing New, but it Still Stings

gammyp6 — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 03:13:48 GMT

I am just heartbroken-again.

re: Tragedy is Nothing New, but it Still Stings

RachelSatterfield — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 00:56:27 GMT

I was actually reading the Bloodhorse from last week which also talked about Indian Blessing's win and Indyanne and in the middle of reading it I for some reason felt inclined to go on line and check for updates on the bloodhorse site (which i do 3 or 4 times a day) and I saw they had to put her down. I cried a bit and picked up my magazine and kept on reading. Sad day yesterday, both because of her and the freaky incident with Go Between. No one likes to see horses dies, especially such classy, courageous racers like these. I hope they find their perfect piece of field in the sky. I'll miss watching you both this upcoming year.

re: Tragedy is Nothing New, but it Still Stings

Erica — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 00:55:24 GMT

I was deeply saddened to read of the passing of both these fine horses. However, Go Between's death hit me especially hard. Point Given was the horse that brought me back to the sport and seeing a horse from his first crop turn into a great racehorse was wonderful.

Go Between might not have been the flashiest horse, but over the years he turned into, as Bill Mott put it, a really honest horse. He gave his full effort each time out and never gave up. I was looking forward to watching him run on dirt at the Sunshine Millions Classic this year in the hopes that it would finally earn the "synthetic specialist" a little respect. Alas, I suppose that's never going to happen now.

But, even if he doesn't get the respect he deserves for his great career from the experts, he will always have it from me. I will look forward to keeping an eye on his brother Compromise (5 year old), his half brother Matai (3 year old) and his full sister (an unnamed yearling filly).

re: Tragedy is Nothing New, but it Still Stings

RunFast159 — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 00:14:18 GMT

Like most things in life, horse racing is full of beginnings and endings. My condolences to the connections of Indyanne and Go Between for their losses. But while I wish these wonderful horses were still with us, I will look to the future for comfort as the first arrivals of English Channel, Invasor, Corninthian and Jazil are welcomed into this world. May they live up to the legacy of great horses that have passed before them.

re: Tragedy is Nothing New, but it Still Stings

Ben@Colonial — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 23:21:36 GMT

I was stunned in hearing of Go Between's passing. And to learn shortly thereafter about Indyanne unsuccessful recovery was just another punch in the gut.

Indyanne had the looks of a promising young filly capable of running with the best F&M sprinters in the country. I was looking forward to her future showdowns with Indian Blessing.

I'm not a man of much emotion, but the news of Go Between's death brought me to tears. He was my favorite horse in training and I believe he had a legitimate shot at a Classic win in October. I was blessed to have the opportunity to see him run twice as a 3 year old and to this day I can still see him splitting horses down the Colonial stretch to win the Virginia Derby in course record time. Words can't describe how much I'll miss seeing him on the track this year.

As racing fan we know this all too well, but I feel the need to reiterate it here: Treasure every opportunity to watch these amazing animals perform. Their time on the track it limited and so is our time to enjoy it. God Bless these two amazing athletes and the people who care for them.

re: Tragedy is Nothing New, but it Still Stings

diastu — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 21:49:16 GMT

Humans - atheletes or not - can have heart evaluations done, for example, on a treadmill, that reveal otherwise hidden problems before they become fatal. In reading about so many horses dropping from heart problems or anyurisms, I wonder why some routine testing isn't done on them to find these problems? Perhaps it wouldn't be justified for a claimer, but on a million-dollar horse, I would think the owner would want that information. Thoughts from the more experienced, please? And condolences to the people these two left behind.

re: Tragedy is Nothing New, but it Still Stings

dbjr8 — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 21:02:44 GMT

I too was devastated to hear about Go Between! I have been a huge fan of Point Given in my life and I always fall in love with and root for his offspring. Go Between was a beautiful and classy animal. He will be missed!

re: Tragedy is Nothing New, but it Still Stings

FSF — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 19:50:21 GMT

I almost couldn't believe my eyes yesterday when I logged on and saw not one, but two heart-wrenching deaths. I've loved Indyanne for awhile and was sick as I watched her break down in that race; but I was almost more sickened to read that they put her down, since the last article I read about her here was so bright and positive, predicting a future career as a broodmare! It's scary how quickly situations change.

Despite the sadness tied to these events, watching the race replays here did make me smile with the reminder of ESPN's Thoroughbred Digest. I watched that show religiously growing up, and wish we could convince ESPN to get interested- really, not superficially, interested- in racing again.

re: Tragedy is Nothing New, but it Still Stings

Rhonda from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 19:41:02 GMT

While I am not a religious person, I like to go to www.gratefulness.org and light a candle each time we lose one of these elegant creatures. I like to think that it keeps them with us on this earth for just a few hours more. Rest In Peace Indyanne and Go Between.

re: Tragedy is Nothing New, but it Still Stings

Rggc — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 19:18:52 GMT

This morning when I read that that lovely filly Indyanne had to put down really hit me hard. Yesterdays news about Go Between was horrible and now this. I don't even want to look in the paper or start up my computer. I hope they all are in peace without pain. That is the least they deserve.

re: Tragedy is Nothing New, but it Still Stings

Lady Ruffian — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 19:09:26 GMT

Go Between wasn't a fave runner of mine but he was a fighter and always made me think twice about my bets. Indyanne on the other hand really was one of those horses I truly enjoyed watching and i was stunned when she broke down in the La Brea... I'm truly saddened by her death. Two great runners lost and it isnt even Feb yet, lets hope tat these are the only two we say goodbye to this year.

re: Tragedy is Nothing New, but it Still Stings

DARLA — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 18:55:22 GMT

I WAS ROOTING FOR GO BETWEEN IN THIS YEAR'S B.C. CLASSIC. I WAS SURE HE WOULD WIN AFTER HIS WIN IN THE PACIFIC CLASSIC. GOD SPEED TO HIM AND THE FAST GREY FILLY!!!