The Look of Leftovers

re: The Look of Leftovers

PomDeTerre — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 23:25:30 GMT

@ ksweatman- i get the bernardini breeding of Z, but I love your idea- send her to Frankel, after he retires sound in 3 or 4 years, or c the stars. you think for an instant that goldikova's connections will send her to the states to breed? uncle mo deserved $ 35,000 a pop for his first crop as my dog does.

re: The Look of Leftovers

PomDeTerre — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 10:23:15 GMT

we continue to wonder what is wrong with us breeding. and yet four broken down three year olds who were headline makers earlier this year are bound for the sheds. and some owners will be clamboring to get their mares in foal to them in hopes of a champion. huh? breeding these injured animals will insure passing on weak genes, not a BC win. i like all of these horses, especially rags and hansen, but we cannot keep breeding for "glitz" in place pf longevity and expect a different result. in most cases, this decision to breed carries no thought as to what it will do to the offspring. rather it is further financial endowment for the owners, particularly in 1 case where this too injuredchampion has no bottom side to speak of. 5 years from now, we will be reciting the same statements about their offspring.

re: The Look of Leftovers

gt1957 — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 02:07:47 GMT

" "You must always put the horse first, and it is in Bodemeister's best interest to retire at this time," said owner Ahmed Zayat."

That is just B.S. This, like most of these early horse retirements for the last 30 years, is ONLY due to the financial greed of the owners.

What is wrong with horse racing today? Owners don't care about the horses or racing fans; they just want the big bucks of breeding. This horse had what a whole six races? That is a joke. The great horse of the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s often had 25+ races.

Why are fans leaving horse racing? It isn't just casinos or other gambling. This is the number 1 reason: there are no horse racing stars anymore. This is why auto racing is so much more popular. There are no horses today that are stars at 2, 3, 4 and even 5 years of age. Most of the 4 year olds and up winners today are geldings! They are at the top only because the potentially great horses were retired at two or three.

The 4 year olds and up today would not come close to beating Affirmed, Seattle Slew, Dr. Fager, Buckpasser, Swaps, Nashua, Bold Ruler, Round Table, Gallant Man, Kelso, Forego, Native Dancer or Tom Fool, all of which were brilliant at 4 or older.

I refuse to get too excited about any 2 or 3 year old any more. I know they will not be around very much.

George

re: The Look of Leftovers

ksweatman9 — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 23:44:55 GMT

American racing has gotten so pathetic that I consider the true champions to be the horses left standing on 4 legs at the end of the year. Quite a feat for our thoroughbreds, they seem to fall apart at the seams. If the industry doesn't start to correct breeding practices, horse racing is doomed. The bigger picture must be looked at. Money has to take a back seat to strong sound horses. Our horses have to be bred for more than speed. No one seems too concerned when ponies break down after a few races, as long as those races were 6 digit payoffs. Then it's off to the breeding shed to squeeze a few more bucks from fast, talented, unsound ponies. No big loss. Really? The sport is dying as fast as the horses are breaking down. No one gets this? The Mosses were pioneers the way they promoted Zenyatta and the way they allowed her to run when she was ready, not at all conventional. Maybe they could step out of the box again and breed this nation's best mare to a strong European bloodline. I thought that was the plan initially, I don't know why she was bred to Tapit and Bernadini. She is so perfect, she should be bred to a Euro horse. She could be the one to change the face of racing in this country.